Almost Easy
by ThiccAnko
Summary: Naruto falls into depression when he does something he'll never forgive himself for. As he begins to slowly throw his life away, someone unexpected gives him a wake up call and helps him get back onto the right path. Rated M for language, and adult/sexual themes. Previously known as 'A Little Piece of Heaven'. Contains synonymous plot and setting with 'Save Me'.
1. Chapter 1: The Long Talk

Naruto flinched as he downed yet another shot of the bar's strongest liquor. He slammed the small glass onto the wooden counter he rested his arms on, taking a deep breath as the liquid slowly spread a very warm feeling throughout his body that he was all too familiar with by now. Had he'd been a normal shinobi, his liver would be screwed. But even with his healing factor granted to him by Kyuubi no Yoko, he still could feel every ounce of sake that he consumed over the last hour or so. His eye itched and the simple movement of rubbing it made him feel as though the world started spinning below him.

The bartender that stood a few feet from him looked at him and sighed. He'd seen some pretty impressive drinkers in his years at bartending this place, but he didn't know anyone who could take fifteen shots of his hardest stuff like this kid. And Naruto was a minor, at that. Here, the rule was that the word 'teen' cannot be in the number of your age in order for them to purchase drinks. And Naruto was seventeen. At the other bar across the village, anyone sixteen and up could drink. But this one was for adults that had a bit more mileage in life. He had refused to let him buy anything at first, but Naruto insisted that he had the money, and needed to drink. If it wasn't for the look in his eyes that the bartender saw, Naruto probably wouldn't have even been here. He saw that the kid had been through something, and even the bartender could tell he could really use a drink.

"Another." Naruto slurred, finding that his tongue went numb from the chemicals he consumed. The bartender rolled his eyes and shook his head.

"Kid, if you have another drink, you'll match your age. I think you've had enough." He says, looking at Naruto sympathetically from across the counter. Naruto looked up at him with a minor glare, finding it hard to focus his eyes on him.

"I'm fine, just... gimme 'nother one." Naruto commanded, extending his hand out as if the bartender would just hand him the whole bottle.

The clerk shook his head, "Sorry kid, I'm not giving you any more to drink. I shouldn't even be allowing you to sit here right now. So why not just go home and stay there for the rest of the night before you do something you'll regret, huh?"

Before Naruto could reply, the bartender walked away to serve someone else.

"Asshole." Naruto spat. Despite the clerk refusing to give him another drink, he knew that he was right. Naruto was fucked up. He knew he needed to get home soon, but decided to wait until some of the alcohol dissipated from his system. If he tried to go home now, he'd probably fall all over the place.

He turned around in his seat and overlooked the whole bar. There wasn't many people here, considering how it was a Monday night. Most people were probably preparing to go to bed right about now.

Soon, he spotted someone he knew. Since the alcohol had greatly affected his ability to think clearly, he couldn't remember her name. He looked at the posterior of the woman wearing nothing but fishnet, an orange skirt, and a bra on. She was bending over one of the pool tables to reach across and hit a cue ball with her cue stick.

It was then that a feeling of lust entered Naruto's body. The position she was in... It was hypnotic. Naruto wasn't particularly known to ogle women in a public setting, but damn, she was sexy.

He still couldn't remember her name, even as he looked at her purple spiky hair that was tied in a weird upside-down ponytail. However, it was a trigger for him to start thinking about the point in his life where he engaged in the Chuunin exams, particularly the test he had to take in The Forest of Death.

Then, for some reason, he unconsciously brushed his fingertips against his left cheek. He noticed this and then remembered how he managed to get a cut on that cheek before he entered that deadly forest...

Anko. That's what her name was.

 _"The proctor lady from the second part of those exams..."_ Naruto remembered. He never gave Anko much thought, let alone a lustful one, prior to tonight. She was actually pretty scary and creepy from what he could remember. But right now, he was eyeing Anko's body down like a starving lion that just spotted a disabled gazelle. Anko's legs were nicely toned and looked as smooth as velvet. Her butt was being pushed out from the position she was in, and even though Anko had enough decency to wear black, skin-tight shorts underneath, Naruto could see under her skirt. Her cheeks were round and grand in size, and looked as though it had the perfect combination of firm and soft...

Anko then moved to the side of the pool table, giving him a profile view of her whole body. Her breasts looked just as wonderful as her backside. Her waist was thin with a flat stomach, which showed a slight toning of abs. He noticed how she wasn't wearing her trench coat like she usually does, but saw it hanging on a rack which was close to her table. She had to know that naturally, in a bar predominantly filled with men, they would be eyeing her down if she wore the outfit she was wearing without the coat, right? Did she crave the attention? Or was she just trying to cool off and didn't care about the half of a dozen eyes in the bar ogling her body down?

The reason was irrelevant to the fact that he never noticed until now how tantalizing Anko looked to him until today. The alcohol could very well play a factor into this, though, but at the end of the day, it didn't matter. Naruto liked what he saw.

He saw Anko bend over again, and saw how nice the arch in her back looked. She had curves that could put some models to shame. The more he looked at her, the more uncomfortable his pants became.

Soon enough, Naruto surrendered to his sultry thoughts, edging him on like a good wingman would.

Next thing he knew, Naruto was standing. Behind Anko.

With both of his hands full of ass.

Then, he was on the floor.

Everything had happened so fast. It seemed like two seconds ago, he was still sitting at the bar, checking Anko out as she practiced her billiards skills. Now, he was on his back, with what felt like pressure on his right cheek. Anko punched him, but the alcohol numbed his sense to feel anything. People at the bar looked on with intrigue, wondering how things were going to play out.

Naruto lifted his torso, and saw Anko staring down at him with a face that even death himself couldn't make.

"You've got to be joking." Anko stated with a deadpanned expression upon actually seeing who her harasser was, "Who the hell let a Genin in here?"

Naruto only stared, holding the cheek Anko had struck with a lot of force. Did he really just grope Anko? A Jounin that had damn near a decade over him in age?

"I, uh..." Naruto mumbled. He didn't know what to say.

Anko became frustrated with his lack of a response and grabbed the front of his coat.

Now, Naruto found himself face-to-face with her.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't ram this cue stick right into your colon right now." Anko ordered.

Naruto looked at her.

Then, he began chuckling. Man, was he fucked up.

"Because I'm not really into stuff like that?"

"Wow." Anko muttered under her breath. This kid had a fucking death wish, "You're fucking with me, aren't you?"

Naruto laughed. He honestly didn't care anymore, "Not really, but trust me, I'm down if you are."

The Jinchuuriki let out a grunt when Anko dropped him, making his back slam against the hardwood floor.

"Don't kill him yet, Anko." The Jounin told herself with a deep breath, closing her eyes and counting to ten. She then dropped the pool cue and grabbed a kunai from her holster on her thigh. She crouched down in front of Naruto on the floor, and pointed the blade right at his jugular.

"Hey," She began with another deep breath, "You're lucky that you're young and stupid. It's actually saving your life right now. Because I can assure you that if you were any one of these older assholes that are currently looking at us, you'd have one of these pool balls lodged in your skull right now."

"So does that make me special?"

Anko closed her eyes again.

"You're making it _extremely_ hard for me to not kill you in front of all these people. You realize that, right?"

"Well, maybe that's what I want. You realize that, right?"

Anko was confused by his answer. She never really knew Naruto too well, but she did know who he was. She remembered him being the only loud-mouthed Genin mocking her that one time she was the proctor for the Chuunin exams a few years back. She also remembered the reports of him among the ANBU from them chasing him around the village whenever he committed pranks. She had to admit though, some of his pranks were golden.

However, the reason she was confused was because she knew enough about Naruto to know that he wasn't being very 'Naruto' right now. Something was wrong with him.

She analyzed him, studying his features. He had bags underneath his eyes. Yep, he'd been crying. A lot, too. There's definitely a reason why he was in a bar he was not supposed to be in, getting drunk and making decisions that ended up giving him a fist to the face. Was it her responsibility to figure out why? Of course not. She could, and probably should, just kick his ass and let that be his lesson. He grabbed her ass, after all. She'd done a lot worse to men that did a lot less to her.

So why was it that this jackass was getting a free pass?

Anko shook her head and stood up, "I'm probably gonna regret this." She muttered to herself. She placed the pool stick that was in her other hand on the pool table and put on her trench coat.

"Get up." Anko called, heading toward the exit, "Follow me."

Naruto was confused. Anko stopped at the door and looked back at him.

"I said lets go. Get off your ass, and come with me."

Naruto still wondered what exactly was going on, because nothing that happened in the last ten minutes was going as expected. However, he nonetheless decided to do as she said. He stumbled to his feet and shakily followed Anko out of the bar, becoming the main conversation among the people remaining in the bar for the rest of that night.

Anko had to almost literally drag him to where they were going. But soon, Naruto found himself inside an apartment, which he could only assume was Anko's home.

"Take a seat." She told him, as she walked in a different direction while taking her trench coat off. Naruto spotted a couch a few feet away and did as he was told. He wondered what Anko was going to do. Were they going to have sex? Was she going to literally kill him? Shockingly enough, Naruto wouldn't have a problem with either scenarios.

Anko then came back and sat next to him on the couch. She leaned back and sat her feet up on the coffee table in front of her.

"What's going on with you, hun?" She asked in a tone that barely sounded like a question, as if he was wasting her time. She wasn't looking at him and had a somewhat bored expression on her face.

Naruto chuckled drunkenly, "Well, I was hoping you'd answer that for me. I can barely remember what happened in the past ten minutes."

"No, smart-ass." Anko responded, clearly annoyed, "What's going on with you? Why were you at a place like that, getting wasted off your ass? I know you probably just finished dealing with teen angst and puberty, but seriously, you're not doing normal shit that someone your age should be doing." This time she was looking at him.

Naruto gave a small chuckle and shrugged, "Hey, maybe I'm just mature for my age."

"If anything, it'd be quite the contrary." Anko shot back. "Look, I know you're not a bad guy. Stupid? Probably. But there's no reason for you to even think to have the audacity to grab my ass, give me smart ass remarks, and continue giving me smart-ass remarks despite how I made it clear that you were making it harder and harder for me not to just end your life with each passing second. And I not only say this as your superior in rank, but as someone from the opposite gender who would appreciate it if you don't do what you did to me to other women as well."

"I'm sorry." Naruto said, "Can we kiss and make up?"

Spots of blood flew onto Anko's hardwood floors.

It took Naruto well over a few seconds to realize what happened. All he heard was a quick woosh of air, then the sounds of liquid droplets hitting the ground. But then, he felt a warm and wet sensation sliding down his cheek.

Anko sheathed her kunai and rested her head in her palm, "Okay, see, what you're _not_ going to do is think that you're gonna play this creepy little game you think we're playing without receiving some kind of repercussion for it. You're not being funny or cute, I'm telling you that now." She said sourly, yet still sounding bored.

Naruto wiped his face and was shocked to see his hand covered in blood. Anko sliced his cheek open. He was hit with nostalgia from the first ever time he ever interacted with her, and it wasn't _good_ nostalgia. Especially since she cut him deeper now than she did before, as droplets of his blood was slowly leaking and dropping down his chin, staining his orange pants.

Naruto finally got the message.

"Okay, I'm sorry..." He apologized, stunned at Anko's speed. She drew a kunai, positioned it in a way to cut him, and went through with the motion of cutting him all in less than the time that it took him to blink. "Shit, you cut me pretty deep... I'm dripping blood over here!"

"Yeah, well, you need to understand a few things. One of them is that what I did was just a warning. A polite one, at that."

Anko turned her head to see Naruto just staring at her, "Polite?!"

"For me, anyways." She shrugged, "And understand that you probably got maybe one or two more warnings, that will likely be worst than the last, before I start getting mean. And understand that I won't kill you. But trust me, I know how to make you wish that I would. I'm one of Konoha's best interrogators for a reason."

Naruto had to say that he was impressed at how fast she made him sober up. And he was sure the Kyuubi didn't even contribute to that as much as Anko just did.

"Oh, and since you consumed what seems like an impressive amount of alcohol, your blood is going to be a lot thinner. You can definitely slip away from blood loss if you keep going down this route." Anko then turned her head to him, "Now would you like to start over?"

That question was probably the most polite she's been since the bar, oddly enough.

"Yeah..."

"Good." Anko nodded. "Now I'll ask again. What's going on with you? What's got you acting like such an ass?"

Naruto took a deep breath and understood what was going on now.

"Well, I just... I'm... I just don't want to be here anymore."

"Here, as in alive?"

"Yeah."

"Oof." Anko sighed, "Well, that's actually pretty obvious. You must have a death wish if you were pulling the things you were pulling with me. Humbly speaking, of course."

"How is that humbly speaking?"

"We're getting off-topic." Anko cleared her throat, "Care to elaborate on why you feel like this?"

Naruto took his time to answer that question, and Anko patiently waited.

"Because I'm... a monster."

Anko's eyebrow raised. She had to tread carefully here. Obviously, she knows that he's the Kyuubi's jailer. But she hasn't been brought up to speed in knowing if he knew that himself. And she wasn't too sure if he was referring to his actual monster, or himself.

"You're just young and dumb." Anko shrugged, "And hey, all of us were young and dumb once upon a time. That doesn't make us monsters."

"I know you know about me and the Kyuubi. Every adult does." Naruto said matter of factly.

"Oh thank God." Anko sighed, "This conversation was going to be difficult for me otherwise."

Naruto shook his head and stood up, "Look, I'm sorry for being such an asshole to you. For what it's worth, I genuinely just thought you were attractive, but I do know that what I did was very uncalled for, and I deserved to get punched in the face. You hit really hard, by the way."

"Ooh, how noble and flattering." Anko remarked with a smirk.

"But, obviously I'm not in the proper mindset to be around people right now. So I can just go home and leave you alone. I know you probably don't want to deal with me." He said with a sigh.

"The dickhead version of you can go kick rocks, for sure. But, if you continue to speak to me the way you have been since I sliced your face open, I can allow us to have a respectable, and non-lethal conversation." She said.

"Nah, that's okay..." Naruto replied reluctantly, "I should probably just turn in."

Naruto held his bleeding cheek as he started heading for the door. But before he could turn her doorknob...

"Hey." Anko called out, "If I really didn't want to deal with you, I'd have just kicked your ass and left you at that bar. Trust me, you're actions have warranted just that." She then turned to look at him. This time, for what felt like the first time, she looked him straight in the eyes.

"Naruto, I'm trying to help you out." She stated. She hated being what most people would consider "kind", but she was willing to do so for those she respected. Most people didn't really deserve her kindness or respect, in Anko's eyes. However, Anko always saw Naruto and thought that he deserved a ton of respect, not only from herself, but everyone. Being the jailer of a being that could single-handledly wipe out this entire village was only one reason among many others why she thought he deserved to be treated with respect and consideration. She had seen how the village shunned him, berated him, and was so harsh on him for something out of his control. It always disgusted her to her core. And while she tried not to care too loudly, as to avoid getting roped up in unnecessary drama, she knew that her line of duty was not only to protect and serve her village, but to still look out for her comrades. Especially the Yondaime's son. Anko put two and two together relatively fast to figure that out, and Anko honestly thought it was somewhat obvious.

Besides, she honored not only the Yondaime as her former Hokage, but she honored the Uzumaki as well. She faintly remembers interactions with his mother, Kushina, when she was younger that helped her not give up complete hope in humanity. At least not yet.

"You consider slicing my face open as trying to 'help me out'?" Naruto questioned.

"No, I consider slicing your face open as a polite warning to you that I'm not one you should piss off. I thought I made that clear multiple times already."

Naruto didn't really have much to say to that.

Anko got up and went to her kitchen to pour herself and Naruto a glass of water. She came back and handed him a glass, which he accepted. He was actually pretty thirsty.

"Anyway, I told you to come here so we can work together on making sure that we get you back on the right path. I know we don't really know each other too well, but you are my comrade. And if you're trying to throw your life away, its my duty as a kunoichi of this village to prevent that from happening." Anko explained.

"So the only reason you care is because it's in your job description then?" Asked Naruto, slightly offended. It seems like the one time he gets someone to care for him, its only because it's was because they 'had' to..

"Kinda." Anko replied honestly, "But I'll be honest, I only look out for those worthy of respect. Yes, being in the line of shinobi is an honorable and respectable thing, but I've met a lot of shinobi that wouldn't know honor and respect if it was tattooed on their ass."

"That's a funny visual to think about."

"Shut up. My point is that I know that you have a demon sealed inside of you. Not just any demon, but a demon that nearly wiped us off the map if not for a sacrifice from our previous Hokage. And you're doing a _favor_ to our village by doing your part in that sacrifice by containing something that could not be killed. You should be _respected_ and _appreciated_ for doing what you're doing, because this village would not be standing if not for you."

Naruto didn't know what to say. No one has ever spoken to him like that.

Anko noted his silence and continued staring at him before shaking her head, "I'm gonna be honest, the fact that this village does what it does to you knowing the situation almost makes me ashamed to be a kunoichi here." She sighed. She then got up and found a sake bottle sitting on her kitchen counter. She poured herself a shot and downed it with no recoil.

"Did you have enough to drink at the bar?" She asked, holding the bottle in an offering manner.

Naruto shook his head, "I sure did." He politely refused. Anko nodded and sat back down. She patted the seat next to her and Naruto hesitantly complied.

Anko sighed, "Look, our line of duty is rough, Naruto. Sometimes we do things as shinobi that will make us hate ourselves. Sometimes we will be put through so much that will make us wish that we were dead. But you know what keeps us strong? Our _unity_. How we as shinobi must look out for each other, and keep in mind that we do what we do for a better tomorrow. It is up to us working together to make sure that Konoha remains the strongest nation of all shinobi nations. And each and every one of us are crucial pieces that go towards making sure it stays that way."

The purple-haired kunoichi looked him in his eyes again, "And you are a crucial peice just as much as the rest of us. My job as a kunoichi is to make sure I look out for my comrades, yes, but I also deem you as someone who deserves... better than what you've got."

Naruto bit his lip in an attempt to somehow hold back his tears. Once the first tear left his eyes, many more followed after.

Anko gave a small chuckle and sighed as Naruto burried his face in his palms and began sobbing, "Great job, Anko, you made him cry."

Naruto's sobs continued until he managed to choke out, "You... you don't understand..."

"What's there not to understand? I'm sure that I don't need to know specifics to know that you deserve—"

Naruto's sobbing came to a halt as she started speaking. He took a deep inhale of air before interrupting with:

"I murdered my own teammate."

For once, Anko didn't have an immediate response. She was taken off guard.

"I did what only the lowest of shinobi would do. I'm a monster. I hurt and kill those around me, and I don't deserve to be in the presence of people who are trying to do good." The blond was gripping at his hair now.

Anko didn't want to pry, but something was amiss. The interrogator was a very good judge of character, and could tell that Naruto wasn't what someone would describe as a 'killer'. And Anko surely knew some killers in her day. His duty as a shinobi may teach him how to kill, but not to an extent where he'd voluntarily murder someone of his own ranks.

"Wow, the poor SOB must've really pissed you off then."

Anko discovered that was the wrong choice of words instantly when Naruto's head snapped toward her and his eyes weren't blue anymore. They were as red as the blood staining his cheek.

"Do you think this is funny?!" Naruto growled.

The Jounin had to repress her urge to reach for her kunai.

"Whoa, calm down, tiger. I mean no offense." She defended. Naruto sent her one last leer before burying his face back into his palms.

"You do have somewhat of a temper though." She pointed out carefully, "Is that the reason why you killed your teammate? Did they do something to piss you off?"

Anko's immediate response was the progression of his sobs. He cried harder into his hands, unable to control his emotional state at this point.

"She... she did nothing wrong, she just... she shouldn't have been there. She should have stayed away from me... I know she was just trying to help, but... Oh, God..."

Anko rubbed her chin. She was trying to make sense of the situation.

"Naruto, as a disclaimer, you don't have to tell me anything if you don't want to. I'm just here to lend a listening ear and a helping hand if you want it. It's like I said, you're my comrade. But you don't have to talk about it if you're not comfortable." She explained respectfully.

Naruto shook his head and fought back his tears, "No, it's okay, I just... not many people have given me a chance to hear me out. Everybody always just sees me as the "Demon Kid"... I think I'm starting to believe it myself..."

"But you're not a demon though." Anko said simply.

"You don't know." Naruto sourly chuckled, confusing the person next to him, "When I get mad... I kind of turn into one."

Despite how this was news to Anko, she wasn't too shocked, "Well, the eyes turning red was a big giveaway, if I'm being honest."

Naruto sighed, "So now you see me as one, too."

Anko poured another shot of sake. It went down the hatch smoothly for her, despite how many people wouldn't have the same experience, "Naw, I still stand behind what I said."

"Why?" He asked.

Anko shrugged, "Because you're not a demon. You can be a brat, but I've met some demons and you're far from being anything like them."

Naruto looked down at the floor, "I don't know how I can agree when I murdered my own teammate in cold blood because I got too mad on the battlefield."

"Ohhh, so it was an accident, then?"

"Yeah."

"So why are you blaming yourself?"

"Because, I..." Naruto's eyes began watering again, "Because I loved her. Because I was supposed to protect her, not only as her comrade, but her friend. As someone who has always wanted the best for her..."

 _"Oof."_ Thought Anko, _"Poor guy had a rough break."_

Naruto took a deep breath, "Her name was Sakura."

Anko started scratching her head, "Sakura... Sakura... Ah, was she the pink-haired medic-nin at the hospital?"

"Yeah," Naruto responded, slightly surprised, "You... you knew her?"

"Ah, well..." Anko started chuckling sheepishly, "Let's just say that you're not the only man who did something to earn a punch to the face. Actually, you earned a lot less than most men have. And Sakura filed a complaint against me to the Hokage a while back in regards to how many patients I was giving her and her team."

Even with tears still running down his face, Naruto couldn't help but chuckle.

"Yeah, that sounds like her." He mumbled with a sad smile.

"So what exactly happened on this mission, if I may?" Anko returned back to the original subject, giving him a tissue. Naruto thanked her and wiped his face of tears (and blood), taking a deep breath as he tried to work past his emotions.

"Yesterday, Sakura and I were on a mission with the rest of our team to track down Orochimaru. We—" Naruto noticed Anko tense up when he said that name, "You okay?"

"I'm good." Anko grunted unconvincingly, "That guy and I just have... history." She shook her head, "Sorry, please continue."

Naruto took note of that and continued, "We were trying to rescue Sasuke, who was our former teammate, seeing as Orochimaru convinced him to join him."

Anko nodded, "I remember. He was the last living Uchiha in Konoha, and I remember the reports about him leaving sometime after Orochimaru screwed up the Chuunin exams that year. The kid always gave me a weird feeling." Anko then shrugged, "Most of the Uchiha did, honestly."

"Right." Naruto said passively, "But my squad was sent on a mission to rescue him from Orochimaru, and we ended up confronting him. One thing led to another, and Orochimaru said something to me about Sasuke that made me so mad, I..." Naruto was staring at his hands, "I blacked out. I don't even remember what happened exactly. All I remember is getting mad, and then waking up to Yamato-sensei telling me that I had gone into this state where if I get really mad, the Kyuubi's chakra comes out and takes over my body somewhat. It's happened before, but this time was the worst it's ever gotten."

Anko nodded, jotting this down in her mental notebook. She signaled for him to continue.

"I lost control of my actions... I was so mad, I... I didn't even know what I was doing until I woke up..." He buried his face in his hands again. "O-Once I woke up, I asked Yamato-sensei what happened... He told me that I grew four tails into the Kyuubi state... Then, I looked around and asked where Sakura was... And you wanna know where she was?"

Anko obviously knew that was a rhetorical question, but answered anyway, "Dead?"

Naruto shook his head, "No, she was next to me, dying. Bleeding. Yamato-sensei told me that I came at her like a wild animal once I looked at her..."

Anko nodded, noting every detail of his story.

"We rushed to the hospital to try and save her, but we were too late..." His sobs had increased quite a bit, and it stopped him from further dialogue for a minute. "I sat by her death bed the whole time, despite the doctors telling me to leave. I kept pleading, begging for her to forgive me... It was a mistake, and I was just hoping it was a bad dream..."

Anko could tell he needed a minute, and she patiently let him gather his thoughts.

"You wanna know what she said to me, right before passing on...?"

Anko shrugged, "Sure."

"She told me... She loves me. And she forgives me."

Anko shrugged again, "Well that's good, right? She understands that it was a mistake and that you didn't mean to do it. And she gave you her forgiveness for it."

"But I can't fucking forgive myself!" Naruto burst at the top of his lungs. Anko was slightly surprised by his sudden outburst. She looked at him, and could see that his irises had turned blood red again, "It's not like it was just some minor inconvenience! She's DEAD. Because of ME. How the hell am I supposed to just forgive the fact that I failed my job as not only a shinobi and her comrade, but as her friend, too?!"

The room fell silent for a while.

"Well," Anko began, "It's just as I said earlier. The village should be thanking you for your job as the Kyuubi's jailer. And—"

"Why would ANYONE thank me when—?!"

"Let me finish." Anko said firmly, "And from what you're telling me, this demon you have sealed in you is so strong, to the point where it can still take over your body despite how powerful that seal must be. Is that your fault? Hell no. You didn't volunteer for tribute. You didn't have any say in the matter. The fact of the matter is that you were involuntarily the village's hero, and now you have a burden placed on you to keep that spirit locked away."

"But its still my fault!" Naruto yelled, "You said so yourself, I have a temper. I could have done more to keep that in check on the mission."

"Hey, I have a temper, too." Anko admitted, "I told you I put a lot of our villagers and fellow shinobi in the hospital for less than what you did in the bar."

"But did you kill any of them?"

"Ah, I came close to it a few times, but no."

"So I'm just a monster then." Naruto reaffirmed, "At least the people who you hurt did something to warrant it. Sakura... did nothing wrong. She was my friend, and I let her down."

Anko poured and downed yet another shot. She was starting to feel it now.

"Let me tell you something," The Snake Master started, "You have to find a way to forgive yourself. Because truth of the matter is, you didn't kill Sakura. Your body was used by that demon to cause destruction, and Sakura ended up getting caught in the crosshairs. Does that suck? Of course it does. But understand that none of your actions made that happen. Orochimaru triggered you, probably knowing that it would do so, and manipulated your emotions in a way that was beneficial to him."

Anko stopped for a second, seemingly deep in thought.

"I have history with the guy, like I said. And I know for a fact that he's very good at manipulating emotions."

She took another pause and sighed.

"At the end of the day, Naruto, you did nothing wrong. I know it's easier said than done to think otherwise, but the facts are right in front of you. You said you don't even remember doing it. That shows you that 'Naruto' was not the one that killed Sakura. If anyone is to blame, it'd be Orochimaru. I need you to concentrate all that frustration and guilt you're feeling and turn it into motivation to become a better shinobi. What happened already happened, Naruto. You have to work past it, and move on forward. Now I get that she was your friend and comrade that you obviously have romantic feelings toward her. But she forgave you. I'm not saying what happened is okay, but as a fellow shinobi, we need you to keep your head on straight and remember that our primary goal is to work together and keep our home safe."

She saw him staring down at the floor. She took another shot to the face. Now, their was a slight blush tainting her cheeks, "Naruto, I get it. I do. It's okay to grieve and take time to regulate your emotions. But you're not alone. We need you here. I know the villagers may have made it seem like you were a burden for existing with a demon in you. They're just scared. But you are every bit as important as the rest of us. And the sooner you and everyone else learn that, the easier it will be for us to coexist peacefully."

Anko didn't expect his next response, "...Why do you care? About me?"

Anko didn't answer immediately. She stared off into space, seemingly having a mental debate over what she wanted to say.

"Naruto, I'm going to tell you something that you probably won't believe initially. It's also something that is forbidden for me to talk about, so I'm going to need you to _promise_ to keep what I'm about to tell you between us."

Naruto was reeled in, "Okay? Sure, I promise not to say anything."

Anko inhaled. She knew that what she was about to say was technically an act of treason against the village. She knew that if anyone else were to find out about her next move, she'd be executed immediately.

But she didn't care. Naruto deserved to know.

"The Yondaime is your father."

Naruto needed a few seconds to process that, "...What?"

"Man, I can get in pretty deep trouble for this." She laughed before taking another swig of alcohol, this time straight from the bottle, "When the Kyuubi attacked, our Hokage, Minato Namikaze, went toe to toe with the huge ass fox, sacrificed himself, and had to seal the demon in a newborn baby, which was obviously you. Isn't it a wonder how you were conveniently there, while the Hokage was in his time of need?"

Anko was looking at him through the corners of her eyes.

Naruto's anxiety began to raise, "N-No, the Hokage could have asked for any orphan. If I was his son, why would it be kept a secret?" He questioned.

"To be honest, I don't know. I'm sure its for a good reason, like protecting your identity, seeing as the Yondaime was a phenomenal shinobi that had many enemies." She answered honestly, "And what I'm saying is based off of my own speculations. I can't definitely prove this to be true, so try not to give my word's too much weight. But I'm fairly certain that you are the son of the Yondaime. You even resemble him."

Naruto sat there for a while, processing what she told him. He had to admit, she held a strong argument.

"I... I just can't bring myself to believe that right now." Naruto admitted. Anko nodded. If someone was to come up to her and tell her that she was the daughter of the Third Hokage, she'd probably laugh at them.

"Well, it's like I said, I'm just going off of what I see. I can't provide physical proof, but I'm fairly certain that you're the Yondaime's son. I'm pretty sure I knew your mother, too."

The genin had many thoughts scrambling around in his head. He was told he was an orphan, and that his parent's died in the Kyuubi attack soon after he was born. And then he found out a few years ago that the Kyuubi was sealed inside of him. And now, he was hearing that his father might be the Yondaime? That's ludicrous.

"Anyway," Anko started again, "in response to what you asked me, I care because you not only deserve respect and appreciation, but because your parents were two people I looked up to. And honestly, if anything else, I do kind of think you're cute." She said with a smirk.

She caught Naruto off guard with that one.

"Thanks?" Naruto replied awkwardly, "I wouldn't have been able to tell considering what you did to my face."

Anko shrugged, "Hey, cute or not, you're not getting away with disrespecting me." She said simply.

"I'm really sorry for that, by the way." Naruto said sincerely. Anko, now drunk, dismissed his apology with a wave of her hand.

"It's all under the rug now. I made sure we were even with what I did to you." She said with a grin. She then stood up off the couch, "Hey, let me patch you up. We don't need that getting infected." She offered, pointing at his wound.

Naruto smiled and followed her to her bathroom. He had to say, for a girl, her place wasn't as tidy as he'd expected. It wasn't as messy as his, but he was sure he saw a pair of her panties lying around as he walked to the bathroom.

"Take a seat." She directed, pointing at the toilet. Naruto put the lid down and did as he was told. Anko went into her medicine cabinet and searched for some gause, tape, cloth, and wound cleaning solution.

"Hey." She said as she reumaged around in the cabinet, "You a virgin?"

"HUH?" Naruto asked incredulously. That was among one of the last questions he'd expect her to ask.

"Did you lose your V-card yet?" She repeated casually.

"Uhhh... no."

"Ah."

Naruto waited for a follow up, but one never came, "...Why do you ask?"

"Just curious." Anko grabbed the items she was looking for and kneeled in front of him. She soaked the cloth in the stringent looked at him, "This might sting."

Naruto nodded, giving Anko the okay. As soon as the wet cloth touched his wound, he flinched. At least she gave him a disclaimer.

"You heal really fast." She remarked, "I'm pretty sure that I cut through your facial muscles. Yet, right now this wound is almost like a scratch."

"Yeah, being the Kyuubi's jailer has it's perks."

"I see that."

Five minutes later, Naruto's wound was cleaned and patched up.

"Hey, thanks." Naruto said.

"Don't mention it." She replied with a nod, "How are you feeling?"

"Better." Naruto admitted, "You... you really helped me out today."

"I'm glad." Anko smiled. Usually, Anko's face was pretty stoic or held a slight scowl, so for Naruto to see Anko genuinely smile for the first time was something that he... wanted to see more of.

"I know you've got it rough. And being a shinobi is only gonna make it worse. But at the end of the day, we still have great lives. We're a proud breed, and we gotta stick together." Anko jabbed him in the chest, "So buck up. Don't go around being stupid and wishing that some crazy lady in a bar would end your life. That's not the way to go."

Naruto laughed. He still felt a tremendous amount of pain over Sakura's death, but Anko aided making it feel less profound. Anko saw that Naruto was in a better head space and was happy that she did a job well done. She gestured for him to 'bring it in' and Naruto complied. They embraced in a meaning full hug, one that Naruto felt he really needed.

"For the record," Anko began, "Just know that I am pretty drunk right now. And that I'm not particularly this friendly when I'm sober."

"I'm aware." Naruto replied with a chuckle.

They released each other and the Jounin raised an eyebrow, "Do you want to spend the night?"

She then rolled her eyes when she saw the look on his face, "Not like that. Just think of it as me offering my company for the night and nothing more. You've got quite a ways to go if you want to get that far with me." She said with a slightly mocking tone.

"Sure, if it's not too much trouble. I promise to be respectful." Said Naruto earnestly.

Anko smiled again and nodded.

"Am I sleeping on the couch?" He politely asked.

"Nah, you're sleeping in my bed."

"Then where will you sleep?"

"In my bed."

"..." Naruto couldn't help but blush. He wasn't in his right state of mind when he was trying to get in Anko's bed originally. So to see the proposal come to life now, was something he definitely didn't expect.

Anko saw that he got silent and rolled her eyes, "Yes, you'll be sleeping with me in my bed. No, I'm not fucking you. And no, this doesn't mean that I'm fucking you any time soon." She declared, "We're just sleeping."

"Roger that." Naruto said sheepishly, "Uh, what time is it?"

Anko looked out her window, "I dunno, like, two hours past midnight?"

"It's that late?" He asks incredulously.

"Mm-hmm. So why not get in the shower and get ready for bed. You smell like sweat and booze, so you're not coming in my bed smelling like that." She tells him.

"Do you have anything I can change into?"

"If you like to wear lacy panties, I got the perfect deal for you."

Naruto turned redder, and it was the first time that Anko laughed that night. Naruto liked the way her laugh sounded.

"I'm fucking with you. Just use those same boxers you have on. You didn't shit, piss, or cum in them, right?"

Naruto did have a newfound view of Anko after what happened that night, but he knew that he would have to get used to how blatantly she spoke most of the time. The woman just had no type of filter, "Uh, no..."

"Good."

"What about a pair of pajamas or something? I can make a stop to my house and-"

"Oh hush, just sleep in your boxers, I know you've done it before."

"Er, not while I'm sharing a bed with someone else, though..."

Anko chuckled and shook her head, "Geez, it's not a big deal. As long as you keep your hands and penis to yourself, I wouldn't even care if you slept in my bed naked." Anko spoke again before Naruto could say something, "That was a joke." She said flatly. "So hurry up and get in the shower, 'cause I'm getting in after you."

"Alright."

* * *

Soon, both Anko and Naruto were properly showered and were in the bed together. All the lights were turned off, and the only source of light came from the moon that looked over the village.

"Goodnight." Anko said. She was wearing a bra, a pair of panties and sweatpants to bed, something that made Naruto uneasy. He decided not to say anything about it, but he had to admit, whether he was drunk or not, Anko looked _amazing_.

"Goodnight." Naruto replied. He was shirtless, since the shirt he wore smelled like armpits, something Anko wasn't happy with. All he had on was boxers, just as Anko requested. Anko laid on her side, with her back facing Naruto. Naruto rested on his back, looking up at the ceiling in deep thought.

He was thankful for Anko. He couldn't remember the last time he was shown any kind of hospitality like Anko had shown him that night.

Despite the alarming amount of thoughts racing throughout Naruto's mind, eventually, Naruto ended up drifting off to sleep.

Along with Anko, who pretty much was out cold as soon as she hit the bed.


	2. Chapter 2: Wrong Side of the Bed

Naruto slowly started to drift back into reality, due to the spears of sunlight stabbing through his eyelids. He woke up with a low groan, seeing as his head pulsing was not particularly the best thing he wanted to wake up to.

He opened his eyes and tried to lift his left arm to raise it and rub his head, but he found that he couldn't. This caused him to look down, only to see wild strands of violet hair covering his chest.

Confused, Naruto decided to actually take note of his surroundings. He felt a weight on the left side of his body, which was the cause of him being unable to use his arm. He was also in what he could remember to be Anko's home, despite his hangover making it difficult to even put the pieces of last nights events together to help him figure out how he got there. All these speculations helped Naruto realize the situation he was in:

He was in Anko's bed, and Anko herself was asleep, nuzzled up against his left side like a little girl cuddling an oversized teddy bear.

Naruto was wide awake upon fully realizing this. He started freaking out internally, seeing as he could recall her literally telling him last night that they weren't engaging in sexual relations. But upon further investigation, he saw that he was still clothed from the waist down. And Anko was still wearing her clothes from last night, despite how it made Naruto blush again, just as it did the night prior.

What caused him to blush even harder than last night, though, was the fact that Anko's breasts were squished against the left side of his upper torso, giving him a phenomenal view of her cleavage. Not only that, but Anko's bra seemed to have shifted a bit, and Naruto was sure that if she turned even the slightest bit in the wrong direction, a portion of her areola would be exposed.

This caused blood to rush to his _lower_ body parts.

As if that were not enough, Naruto started realizing how good it felt to have Anko's weight on top of him. Her arm was wrapped around his body, and one of her legs was resting on top of his left leg. She was still wearing her sweatpants, thankfully, but his blood flow situation was worsened when Anko adjusted in her sleep, in a way that almost felt as though she slowly humped his leg, as it was between both of hers.

Poor Naruto didn't know what to do.

A part of him wanted to move, but the other part of him was... shockingly comfortable. Anko was not heavy nor too boney, as she was the ideal weight for someone of her height and age. And seeing as he was resting on his back, Anko was pretty much traping him, so he couldn't move much without disturbing her sleep. But he could not find a reason to want to complain.

He had even noted that Anko herself looked extremely comfortable. Anyone could tell that she was in a very deep sleep, especially with him hearing a slight snore from her with every few passing seconds. She seemed peaceful, unbothered, and looked as though she were sleeping on the most comfortable cloud in the sky. The blonde thought she looked oddly adorable, despite her messy hair, quiet snoring, and the small stream of drool leaking out of her slightly open mouth, onto his chest. She wasn't exactly in her most graceful position, but Naruto still thought she looked pretty nonetheless.

Naruto lied there for at least ten minutes, being sure not to make any sudden movements. He admired her beauty, almost like how he'd admire a sleeping puppy. Or rather like a sleeping wolf. He could tell that she probably wouldn't be the most cheery person if her sleep was disturbed, and the thought of it alone intimidated him ever so slightly.

Unluckily, Anko then started stirring in her sleep just as his mind started to wander over to what he'd be able to see if Anko's bra shifted in a way to his liking.

Her eyes fluttered open, and she winced as the sunlight stabbed through her corneas, just as it did to him earlier.

"Mmngh... dammit..." Anko groaned lowly, holding her head, "Can someone turn off the freakin' sun...?"

Naruto wasn't sure if he should have responded to that, but he decided not to. After Anko was finished spewing profanities at the early morning sunlight, she took a minute to look at her surroundings.

She was still holding her head and looked up at Naruto with squinted eyes, who had already been looking down at her, "Naruto...?"

Naruto smiled awkwardly, "Uh, hi."

She heard his voice and that caused her to open her eyes more. A lot more, actually.

"Naruto?! What the hell are you—?!" The Jounin cut herself off as she remembered the events of last night, "Ah, shit... I must've drunk too much sake last night..."

"I think we both did." Naruto responded, glad that she remembered what happened last night, too. It wouldn't have been the most pleasant thing for him to have to explain it to her himself.

"I am way too comfortable." She complained, "Is me laying like this bothering you? I know that me being this close to you is not something you'd probably expect, cuz it definitely ain't something I expected. But hey, I'm already here and moving right now is gonna be a lot for me."

Naruto wasn't sure how to answer that initially. However, before Naruto could come up with anything to say, Anko tried to adjust her leg and noted that something was... off.

"And just what the heck is _this_?" She mumbled to herself, moving her leg in the same way again, noting that her thigh was bumping into something unusually... firm.

Anko quickly put the pieces together and deadpanned.

She sighed, "Naruto... please tell me that you don't have an erection in my bed right now."

Naruto blushed so hard, one would assume that all the blood in his body was sent straight to his head.

Or rather _both_ of his heads, apparently.

Naruto didn't say a thing. What could he say? The proof was right there below the sheets. Anko looked at him and the look on his face provided all the answers she needed.

"God, Naruto. Do you have any self-restraint at all?" She asked him in a disappointed tone. Her eyes shot back downwards for just a second, and the tent that she saw under the sheets was something that shockingly made the Mitarashi raise an eyebrow.

 _"Wow... not bad, actually."_

Anko had to scold herself for even looking, but she had to admit, the gaki was blessed.

"Sorry! I can't really control something like this!" Naruto quickly defended.

Anko rolled her eyes, "Freakin' virgin." She scoffed, removing herself from him. As soon as she moved, Naruto got up and faced his front side away from her to hide his 'dilemma'.

"I'm sorry!" Naruto apologized again, "I really wasn't trying to be disrespectful..."

Anko got up shrugged, readjusting her crooked bra, "It's no biggie. I'm making an effort to try to feel flattered over it rather than creeped out." She then grinned, "I'm sure that sleeping with a purple-haired bombshell wearing nothing but a bra and sweatpants definitely wasn't helping."

"Didn't you mention something about being humble last night?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Uh-huh." Naruto shook his head, "Why do you dress like that, anyway?"

"Pardon?" Anko asked with a raised eyebrow.

Naruto scratched his head nervously, "I mean... Respectfully speaking, you do dress a little more... revealing than most girls. I was just curious as to why that was."

Anko rolled her eyes, "I dress like this to give men like you a boner at any given moments notice."

"Really?"

"No."

Naruto deadpanned.

Anko got up and started walking to her kitchen, "I dress like this because I feel most comfortable like this. That, and I know I have sex appeal. And it makes weaker men easier to manipulate when they think that you're easy."

Naruto rubbed his chin, "I guess... but doesn't the looks and attention bother you?"

Anko grabbed a few pans from her cabinet, as well as a few ingredients from the fridge, "It can be annoying, sure. But, as I'm sure you well know, I make sure that men don't get out of hand without punishment. Besides, I like the way I dress. I'm not walking out on the streets naked, and I do wear my trench coat most of the time, which covers eighty percent of my body." She sent him a look out the corner of her eyes, "Does the way I dress bother you?"

"No, not really. I was just curious."

Anko proceeded to cook, not without giving him a slight eye roll beforehand, "I think it bothers you more than you think, considering how it ended up causing you to grab my ass and give you an erection all within a span of twelve hours."

Naruto said nothing. She had him cornered.

Anko noted this gave a low chuckle as she began preparing breakfast, "Look, I'm just giving you shit. I know you're obviously attracted to me, and that's fine. Just do your best not to end up on the other side of my kunai again and we'll be alright."

Naruto nodded his head, "Deal."

Anko took a pause for a second, "...How old are you, again?" She asked.

"Seventeen."

"Huh." Anko mumbled, "Wouldn't have been able to guess that based off your..."

She cut herself off with a shake of her head.

"What?"

"Nothing." Anko quickly changed the subject, "Do you like your eggs sunny-side up, or scrambled?"

Naruto couldn't hide his shock, "You're making me breakfast?"

"I'm making _us_ breakfast, yes." She nodded, "Sunny-side up, or scrambled?"

"Uh, scrambled please." He answered, "Thank you."

"Don't sweat it. Just know that I expect to be treated to some food sometime in the near future, as well."

"It's a deal." Naruto said with a smile, "Also, may I use your bathroom?"

"Are you gonna jerk off in there?"

"No!"

"Then you may."

Naruto got up and went into his superior's bathroom to handle nature's call. After taking care of his business and washing his hands, he decided to look in the mirror. The first thing he noticed was the bandage still on his face. The next thing he noted was the slight bags under his eyes. This made him sigh. He never really had time to self-reflect about his actions in the past few days. However, thanks to Anko, he felt more hopeful. Of course, he still felt like shit due to his last mission, but he made a vow to do everything he could to try to make up for it. He wanted to make Sakura proud from wherever she was watching him from.

Before Naruto got too into his own head, the smell of seasoned eggs and pancakes was immediately brought to his attention. His stomach howled as a result, and Naruto knew that he was rather ravenous. He hadn't eaten a proper meal since before he went on his last mission.

Naruto peeled off his bandage and threw it away, and was happy to see that his wound inflicted by Anko had healed completely. There was a very faint scar there, though. Not subtle enough to be unnoticeable, but not prominent enough to be seen across a room.

Naruto shrugged. He deserved it. If anything, it was now a reminder of how it doesn't help anyone, including himself, to act like a jackass.

He then left the bathroom, to see Anko finishing up her cooking, "Hey Anko, I have a question."

"Fire away." She stated, not breaking her concentration on finishing up her cooking and cleaning.

"You mentioned that you think you knew my mother... What was she like?"

Anko sighed, "If I'm going to be honest with you, Naruto, I'm unsure if I should answer that. I shouldn't have even told you about your parents in the first place. I was drunk, and that probably wasn't the wisest decision on my end."

Naruto frowned, "Well, you already told me that you think my dad was the Yondaime and that you knew my mom." He stated, "And you even said that they were two people that you looked up to. So what difference would it make if you told me more about them? I promise I won't tell anyone what you told me."

Anko was about to protest, but he did have a fair argument. Not only that, but as she looked over at him, she saw him giving her the infamous puppy dog eyes.

 _"Bastard doesn't like to play fair."_ Grumbled Anko internally, "Fine, Naruto. I'll tell you what I know about your parents under one circumstance."

"Which is?" The blonde inquired, clearly perked up.

Anko looked at him with a smirk, "Fight me."

"Huh?!" Naruto yelped, not expecting that proposal.

"You heard me." Said Anko, crossing her arms, "Have a spar with me. I'm interested in seeing what you can do."

"... Like right now?"

"Like after we eat, yes."

Naruto frowned. He looked at the ground and sighed, which was not the reaction Anko was expecting, "Normally I would, but... I'm kind of not in the mood to spar, considering..."

Anko frowned as well. She knew where he was going with that.

"I get that fighting may have lost its pizzazz considering what you're going through. But fighting is a large part of your job description, Naruto." She said to him, placing two plates of pancakes and eggs on her dining table, waving him over to eat.

"I know, I know. It's just that... I'm afraid to even get upset over anything at this point. I'm noticing that the seal isn't doing as good a job at holding back the Kyuubi's chakra and influence as it used to. I think that it weakens any time I use the Kyuubi's chakra. And since this most recent time was a time I ended up using more of it than I ever have, I'm afraid to do anything that can provoke it until I can get the seal checked and fixed." He explained, sitting at the other end of the table. The food smelled delectable.

"I understand." Anko nodded, "I won't pressure you to fight if you don't want to. But I think you should do something about your seal soon since you can't run away from fighting for long." She then grinned, "Besides, I really want to fight you."

Naruto couldn't help but grin himself. He loved being challenged, "I'd love to fight you, too. I'm stronger than I look, and I want to show you what I can do when I'm not drunk in a bar."

"You're still just a genin. I have no doubts your strong for a genin, but don't get your hopes up if you think you can give me a serious run for my money." Said Anko as she shoved almost half a whole pancake in her mouth.

"Wanna bet?" Asked Naruto with a smirk and crossed arms.

"Sure. Just keep the stakes light for your sake." She responded dismissively, eating her eggs.

Naruto started eating as well, "If I win, you have to cook for me for two weeks!" He said with a wide grin, "The food is really good, by the way."

"I know, thanks." Anko smirked, "And if I win, you have to clean my apartment for two weeks."

Naruto rubbed his chin before giving Anko a toothy grin, "You're on." He declared, extending his hand across the table for Anko to shake. Anko returned his grin and shook his hand firmly.

"Poor kid." Anko playfully sighed, "You have no idea what you're getting yourself into."

"Don't underestimate me." Naruto responded boldly, "I don't have a bad track record, even against people that outranked me."

"We'll see." Was all Anko said, "Now shut up so we can eat."

The pair continued eating in silence for a few seconds, until...

"So... are you gonna tell me about my mom?" He inquired between bites.

"No."

Naruto threw a small fit, "C'mon! Why not?!"

"I told you already, gaki." Said Anko after taking a sip of orange juice, "I'll tell you after you fight me."

"I already told you I would!" Naruto exclaimed, "So why not tell me now?! You'll get your fight regardless!"

"Because I said so." Anko responded firmly, "Besides, once your secret goes out, I want to be able to say I kicked the Fourth Hokage's son's ass." She ended with a smirk.

"First of all, you're not gonna kick my ass!" Said Naruto, standing up, "Second of all, what do you mean 'once my secret goes out'? Do you think I'm gonna tell someone?"

"Don't know." Anko said honestly with yet another shrug, "I just know it's going to come out somehow, one way or another. I can't be the only person that knows."

Naruto didn't have a response. It made him wonder just how many people were keeping this secret from him. Like Tsunade. Or Kakashi. Or Jiraiya.

Anko saw the look on his face and wanted to put her foot in her mouth, "Ugh, Naruto, don't think too much about it. And don't do anything crazy like confront someone about it. You promised me you'd keep things between us."

Naruto wanted to say that the thought of confronting someone didn't even cross his mind, but he knew that would be a downright lie.

"I-I know... But I deserved to know a long time ago." Naruto clenched his fist, "I just don't know why these secrets are being kept from me like this. From people I really look up to."

"I'm sure it's for a reason, Naruto." Anko responded, finishing up her plate, "But as I said, don't think too much about it. It's only gonna frustrate you more and more. And if you want me around and not beheaded for telling you a village-wide secret where death is a punishment by law, you'd work on keeping what you know between us until further notice."

This made Naruto back down a bit and caused him to think for a second.

"What if I just don't tell them that you told me?" Naruto asked.

To his shock, Anko shook her head.

"Look, Naruto, I work in the Torture and Interrogation portion of our ranks, and a lot of that deals with criminals and people that break laws. I also deal closely with the council and government of our village, and I know for a solid fact that if you were to even mention that you know anything of your parents to the wrong person, the ANBU will send you off to Inoichi, who is tied closely with my department, and have him search through your memory banks to find out how exactly the information got brought about to you." Anko explained, shocking the blonde before her.

"Bullshit!" Naruto crossed his arms, "Baa-chan wouldn't let that happen!"

"If you're referring to our lovely big-boobed Hokage, then you're sadly mistaken." Anko sighed, "I know you're close with the Hokage. And she likely wouldn't approve of the ANBU doing what I just told you." She looked him dead in the eyes, "But trust me, Naruto. The Hokage is not the only person who contributes to how the village runs. A Hokage does not and cannot run a village on their own."

Naruto looked down at the ground, silent. After a suspenseful pause, Naruto sighed.

"Alright. I'll try not to think about it."

"And you won't tell anyone, right?"

"Right."

"Let me hear you say it."

Naruto sighed again, "I won't tell anyone."

"Promise?"

"Yes!" Naruto said, irritated, "I promise I won't tell anyone!"

 _"He's gonna tell someone."_ Anko sighed internally, "Good."

* * *

An hour or so later, Naruto left Anko's house. He thanked her for her hospitality and everything she'd done for him between that day and the night prior. Anko responded... as she usually would, and told him to not think much of it. He vowed to show appreciation towards her actions nonetheless, and made a mental note to treat Anko out to a bowl of Ichiraku's sometime in the near future.

After leaving the Jounin's home, Naruto tried to figure out what to do to occupy his time. He usually would decided to either stop by Ichiraku's or train at a time like this. However, Naruto was stuffed after eating Anko's food, and for some reason, he just didn't feel like training. He thought about managing to find Jiraiya and get him to do something about his weakening seal, however, the only person that would know of his location is Tsunade. Naruto decided against this for now, simply because he hadn't spoken to Tsunade since she assigned him to his most recent mission. Even when he returned, he made enough of an effort to avoid her presence, as he was not sure how to bring about the news to her in regards to how Sakura actually died. Yamato had reluctantly agreed to keep what happened on that mission between each other, and went ahead to report to Tsunade that Sakura had perished at the hands of Orochimaru. With all that said and done, Naruto found it hard to even put himself in her presence. Eventually she would find out the truth, whether he'd tell her or if she found out through another source somehow, but Naruto did not feel ready to face that obstacle just yet.

After thinking about this, Naruto noted his stress levels increasing rapidly. As a result, Naruto decided what he wanted to do with his day; visit the local hot springs and just relax. It was a healthy way to work out his stress, as opposed to drinking like he had the night prior.

The Jinchuuriki made his way over to the hot springs and paid the fee for a two-hour dip. He showered prior in a room by the entrance to the springs and then made his way over to the steamy area. The area was empty, just as Naruto wanted it to be. Smiling to himself, he took a dip into the hot spring, allowing the hot water to melt away his stresses and anxieties. He sighed once he was shoulder-deep in the water, leaning up against the edge of the spring and closed his eyes to allow his body to take a break from his daily activities.

Soon enough, Naruto ended up getting so immersed in his meditation, eventually he was no longer fully conscious. Despite him waking up just a few hours prior, he gave in to the thought of taking a quick relaxing nap. With only his head outside of the water, Naruto was lightly snoring, as if the hot springs had rocked him to sleep like a toddler.

By the time thirty minutes had passed after he had drifted off, however, a certain character appeared behind his sleeping form.


	3. Chapter 3: The Rolling Scroll

All around Naruto was the echo of the eerie sound of dripping water in a large spacious room. He could feel himself standing ankle deep in water, and the air around him seemed foul; not particularly in a sense of smell, but in a way that he could feel in his soul. It was a feeling of very sinister chakra, and Naruto was all too familiar with it.

Naruto opened his eyes, only to look at the giant bars of a locked chamber with a seal placed on it. On the inside of the cage was complete darkness. That is, until two glowing eyes emerged from the darkness, staring directly at the blonde Jinchuuriki. The eyes glowed within the shadows like a glowstick, and were red in color. Naruto stared back at the eyes looking at him, grimacing as he did so.

"Why did you call me here?" Naruto asked the creature behind the bars. The eyes seemed to have squinted slightly, and eerie laughter was heard, echoing around in the extremely spacious room they were in. One would expect the voice to be deep and boisterous, however, the voice was actually light and... feminine.

Kyuubi no Yoko stepped forward in front of the bars of the cage, exposing herself from the shadows. Contrary to the form she took prior to being sealed inside the boy before her, her current form was more humanistic. She stood to be about three inches taller than Naruto, which was well above average for most human women. Her expression exhibited a very dark demeanor, and her red eyes that glowed much like the eyes of a fully activated Sharingan made her seem even more sinister. Her hair was bright orange, much like the fur of a fox, and was long enough to reach down to the middle of her back. Some of the strands dangled in front of her face freely, almost like half-opened blinds that draped in front of a window. Despite how sinister the demon looked, most would agree that her facial features were attractive, yet intimidating. She had the looks of a thirty-something-year-old woman, despite how she'd been around for thousands of years. Her frame was nothing short of voluptuous, much like Anko's, and the slim-fitting red kimono she wore hugged every curve she had. The kimono ended mid-thigh, exposing her long and fair-skinned legs. The fingers on her hands were long, and her razor sharp nails that were black in color only made them look longer. Overall, anyone would agree that the demon looked attractive, but anyone would also agree that she didn't seem completely human. She was a demon, after all; one that looked as though she'd rip into anyone she wanted to harm with ease.

The Kyuubi gave Naruto a dark grin, exposing her elongated canine teeth, **"For no particular reason. I do get lonely in here from time to time, so I could use the company."**

The Nine-Tailed Fox's voice was womanly, but had an eerily demonic undertone to it. Naruto grimaced at the evil being and crossed his arms.

"The last place I'd want to be is near you. You killed my friend."

Kyuubi's grin grew in size somewhat, **"It's not my fault she provided as an easy target. If anything, she had it coming for a long time. I couldn't tell you how often I had to use my chakra to heal the wounds she inflicted on you."**

The muscles in Naruto's jaw began to tighten, "She wasn't the enemy! I only used your power to fight Orochimaru, not my allies!"

 **"Orochimaru will get what's coming to him in due time. I still have not forgotten how he suppressed my chakra during your Chuunin exams."** The Demoness then licked her lips thirstily, **"As for your teammate... that was the most freedom I've gotten since I've been sealed by that damned Hokage. Despite how your body was too weak for me to kill Orochimaru, I went for the closest available target while I still had that much control. And it felt great to have finally killed. It is not something I've felt for a long time."**

As much as Kyuubi's words angered Naruto, he couldn't help but feel a chill run up his spine upon hearing how enthusiastic she was about killing. It was almost as if she got off on it. Was this what it meant to be a demon? To get a kick out of murder and destruction?

Naruto's anger began to rise enough to a point where his breathing became heavy, and his fists began to clench up as hard as his body would allow, "You're... you're sick! What do you gain out of merciless killing, anyway?!"

The demoness began to chuckle sinfully. She stepped forward, revealing the nine large foxtails flailing tranquilly behind her, **"Joy. Satisfaction. Pleasure. When you use my power, do you not feel how good it feels to inflict harm onto others? Did it not feel good to attack that cursed Uchiha when you fought him three years ago?"**

Naruto grunted, unable to say anything. Despite how much he didn't want her to be right, he knew she was. Whenever he used her power... it made him insatiable. When he and Sasuke last fought, it felt good to have been putting his friend in his place at some points of the fight... despite how much he did not want to admit it. The very first time he used it in The Land of Waves where he fought on what is now known as The Great Naruto Bridge, he declared that he was going to kill Haku. And what was scarier was that he really meant it. Despite him not actually killing him, Naruto has _never_ wished to kill anyone or anything. This demon's chakra... it was evil, yet addictive.

The Kyuubi noted his hesitation and grinned, **"I know you know that I'm right. If only that last attack had landed... It would have been very fulfilling to have killed an Uchiha despite me being sealed inside you. One of these days, I'll eradicate any remaining Uchiha on this earth. I swear it."**

Naruto looked at the ground, clenching his fists, before looking back at the Kyuubi, "... I'm not going to use your power anymore."

The female demon looked at Naruto with an amused expression, before lowly chuckling. Then, gradually, her laughter began to bellow out into the large spacious room she was in loudly, echoing all around them.

 **"That must be a joke."** She stated after her howling died down, **"The only reason you've ever gotten as far as you have in your pathetic shinobi career was because you relied on my power. Without me, you're nothing. Without me, you'd have died a long time ago. You do realize that, right?"**

Naruto looked down, "It's true that without you, I probably wouldn't be around anymore. You have saved my life countless times, even in situations where most people wouldn't have made it."

Kyuubi grinned triumphantly, **"I'm glad that you-"**

"But..." Naruto continued, holding a grin of his own, "Without me, you probably would be dead, too. If you hadn't gotten sealed inside someone as gutsy and stubborn as me, you probably would have died sealed inside someone who doesn't have what it takes to take on the path of a shinobi."

This silenced the demoness for a few seconds. She then scoffed at him dismissively.

 **"Fool. Do you really think that?"**

"I do." Naruto said confidently, "It's like I said three years ago, I'm your jailor. And not everyone has what it takes to keep you in check like I do."

The Nine-Tailed Fox rolled her eyes, **"You're clearly deluded. You do not, by any means, 'keep me in check'. I challenge you to remove this seal and say that again."**

"Nice try." Naruto scoffed, "You're not getting free any time soon."

The Kyuubi then smirked devilishly, granting Naruto a light but dark chuckle, **"We shall see about that, Naruto-kun."**

* * *

"Naruto."

The conversation Naruto was having with his demon tenant in his own mindscape was interrupted when he felt someone shaking him by his shoulder. Naruto opened his eyes and turned around, only to be face-to-face with his replacement sensei while Kakashi was out of commission.

"GAH!" Naruto screeched, jumping back deeper into the onsen, splashing the Jounin in the process. Yamato's face was closer to him than he'd originally anticipated, nevertheless considering how Naruto wasn't expecting to be snuck up on in the first place.

Yamato's face deadpanned as water from the hot springs dripped off of his face and clothing, "...You didn't have to splash me."

"You didn't have to scare the crap out of me!" Refuted Naruto, trying to calm his pounding heart, "God, your face freaks me out!"

Yamato furrowed his brows, "What was that?"

"Nothing!" Naruto sighed, "Er, so what's up, Yamato-sensei?"

The wood-style user shook his head, "The Hokage summoned you. She wishes to talk with you."

Naruto looked at Yamato and immediately frowned. Part of the reason why he chose to go to the onsen was to avoid Tsunade. After all, he technically lied to her, seeing as she doesn't know the whole truth as to the cause of Sakura's untimely death.

...Or does she?

"Do you know what she wants to talk about exactly...?" Asked Naruto with a tone and expression that inquired if it were about his most recent mission.

Yamato huffed, "She did say that it was in regards to the spy mission. But if you're wondering, I didn't mention anything to her about Sakura, nor did she mention her herself. I don't know exactly what it is she summoned us for."

Naruto looked down at the ground momentarily before meeting Yamato's gaze again, "Yamato-sensei... if it's about what I think it's about, then I don't want you getting in trouble because of what I asked of you." Said Naruto cheerlessly, "I realize that it wasn't right for me to ask you to lie to the Hokage for me. I was scared and desperate... but if there are consequences I have to face, then I have to face them on my own, without dragging people down with me."

Yamato frowned and looked at his subordinate with empathy. Yamato was undoubtedly uncomfortable with going on with what can be considered an act of treason, but did it anyway for Naruto's sake. He was aware that it may not have been the smartest or most ethical decision, but chose to do what he could for Naruto considering the circumstances.

"I appreciate the nobility, Naruto. But your secret's safe with me, and just know that I chose to do what I did in an effort to look out for you. You're my comrade, and I know you meant no harm." Yamato then sighed, "But I do encourage you to come clean eventually. It would be better for the Hokage to hear it from you than anyone else. I don't know how she would handle the news, but trust me when I say that no matter the outcome, it'd be much worse if she found out through another source at this point."

Naruto nodded slowly. He knew Yamato was right. Hence why he wanted to drag it out as long as he could to begin with.

"Alright, I hear you. Let's go."

* * *

In the Hokage's office sat Tsunade, the Fifth Hokage of Konohagakure. Standing beside her was her right-hand woman, Shizune, who held Ton-Ton protectively in her arms. Shizune was aiding Tsunade in the process of reading and signing paperwork, which was every Hokage's dreaded responsibility.

Their concentration on the paperwork was then interrupted by a knock coming from the door.

"Enter!" Tsunade called out. Naruto and Yamato both emerged into the room a second later. Naruto had hesitated to enter, attempting to think of any last minute alibis that could aid him in getting out of the situation, despite his earlier nobility. But he inevitably forced himself into the room and immediately looked at Tsunade to gauge her facial expression to see what mood she was in. From what he could see, she was not angry. However, she didn't seem particularly happy, either. She was unreadable, and that alone began to make Naruto's anxiety skyrocket.

Before Tsunade could say anything, Kakashi Hatake entered in behind Yamato and Naruto. The silver-haired Jounin had fully recovered from the hospital, seeing as he had his favorite little orange book in his hands as he walked in.

Tsunade looked at the three shinobi, "Ah, good, you all are here." She then looked at Kakashi, "You're reading Jiraiya's smut again, so I'm assuming you're fully recovered."

The son of the White Fang smiled with his eyes in response to her annoyed tone, "Yup."

After a brief eyeroll, Tsunade looked over at Naruto, who jumped internally once her eyes fell on him. To his surprise, she looked at him with a look of genuine concern.

"You holding up okay, Naruto-kun?"

She spoke to him in a way that a mother would talk to her hurt son. Naruto was touched by this, and was relieved, seeing as that was a sign that she didn't find out exactly what happened on his mission. But it still brought him discomfort to know that he still had to come clean, and it made it difficult for him to look her in the eyes.

"Y-Yeah. I'm... fine." Awkwardly responded Naruto. Tsunade made a mental note of his response, but simply nodded and didn't prod any further.

"I guess you all are wondering why I summoned you here." She began to the remaining members of Squad Seven.

"You mentioned that it had to do with the mission a few days ago, correct?" Asked Kakashi, putting away his book. Naruto was now curious. If she didn't know the truth, then what could she want to tell them?

"It does." Nodded Tsunade, before giving out a huff of air, "Sai... has been reported dead."

There was a brief silence in the room, as none of the other shinobi were prepared to hear such news. A small grunt from Ton-Ton seemed to break the silence after a while.

Tsunade took their lack of a response as demands for elaboration, "After sending out ANBU to pick up after the trail to Orochimaru's hideout, they found that Orochimaru had left and abandoned it by the time they got there. After searching the hideout, they stumbled across Sai's body. And after inspecting his wounds, they found that he was finished off with a technique that you, Kakashi, should be familiar with; The Chidori."

Naruto's and Yamato's eyes opened wide in shock, while Kakashi's exposed eye squinted.

"So Sasuke killed one of our ranks, then?" Asked Kakashi with a slightly frustrated tone. He was beginning to gain feelings of regret to have ever taught Sasuke that technique.

Tsunade nodded, "It seems that way. But there's a catch." She looked at Yamato, "You reported that Sai joined up with Orochimaru and departed with him after you and Naruto fought with him, correct?"

Yamato nodded, "Yes, my wood clone saw everything."

"Then why would Sasuke turn around and kill Sai if they were on the same side?" Asked Kakashi.

"That's the catch." Answered Tsunade, "After informing Danzo that one of his most trusted ROOT ops had sided with the enemy, he confessed to me that he sent Sai out on a separate mission without informing me. A mission to find Sasuke Uchiha and kill him after making an illegitimate proposal to join Orochimaru's efforts in destroying the Leaf."

Yamato rubbed his chin, "So Sai was actually following Danzo's orders, not turning his back on the Leaf..." He then crossed his arms, "Why wouldn't Danzo inform you of these plans?"

"Because he's much like Orochimaru in the sense that he's very reptile-like." Tsunade grunted, "First off, he knows that I wouldn't approve. And he's been known to do things behind my back like this, and whenever I'd bring it up to the council, his defense of doing it in the name of the village gets him out of the crosshairs every time. The most punishment he's ever gotten from stunts like these was a slight slap on the wrists. Sneaky bastard." Spat Tsunade.

"Are you saying that Danzo should not be trusted?" Inquired Kakashi, "He was a friend of The Third, after all."

"Something is up with him, and I can't particularly point out what it is right now, so I won't make that bold of a claim. All I'm saying is that he's done some things that have rubbed me the wrong way. And I'm gonna get to the bottom of it one way or another." She stated, mumbling the last sentence to herself moreso than anyone else in the room. Shaking her head to clear those bothersome thoughts for another time, Tsunade's eyes fell on Naruto once again, who inwardly panicked a bit in response.

"Naruto, you're unusually quiet." Tsunade pointed out, acknowledging how normally Naruto would have at least a short list of somethings to say in response to the news brought to him.

Naruto's eyes wandered around the room as he tried to think of something to say.

Kakashi glimpsed at him, "I think he just has a lot to take in. You know, considering."

Naruto mentally thanked Kakashi for speaking up for him. Tsunade nodded, accepting Kakashi's statement.

"That's understandable... Feel free to come in and talk to me anytime if you need to get some things off your mind, Naruto-kun. I know you're dealing with a lot right now."

"Thank you, Tsunade-sama." Was all Naruto responded with. The leader of Konoha noted his lack of use of her notorious nickname 'Baa-chan', but chose not to prod again.

She simply looked at Shizune, who met her gaze with a sad one, before sighing, "In any case, considering the circumstances, I will give Squad Seven a week off duty. Sakura's funeral will be held two days from now, and Sai's will be held the day after. I hope that everyone will be attending."

Naruto felt a lump beginning to form in his throat. It took quite a bit of effort to not have a small breakdown right in front of everybody.

"That is all I have to inform you of. Take advantage of the days off to mourn and recover. You all are dismissed."

Yamato and Kakashi both nodded and proceeded out of the room. Naruto fell in behind them both, and just as he was one foot out the door, Tsunade called his name, stopping him in his tracks.

"Yes, Tsunade-sama?" He answered, peeking past the door to look at her.

Tsunade looked at him with a sad smile, "Keep your chin up, Naruto. Everything will be okay."

Naruto looked down at the floor, before nodding and stepping out of the room, closing the door behind him.

Shizune frowned, "He's going through a lot."

"I can only imagine." Tsunade responded with a sigh.

"I hope he'll be okay..."

"I owe that brat a lot, unfortunately. I'll do everything I can to make sure he will be."

* * *

Naruto stepped out of the front entrance of the Hokage tower to see Kakashi sitting there in front of the border, who was apparently waiting for him.

"Yo, Naruto. We have to talk." Stated Kakashi. The way he phrased it began to make Naruto worry that Yamato may have told Kakashi what happened, considering how he did technically only ask him to withhold the information from Tsunade more than anyone else.

"Okay... what's up?"

"Well, it's a number of things, actually. Maybe it'd be best if we spoke about it over at Training Ground Seven." He offered. Naruto hesitantly nodded and shunshined over to the broad and open location. Kakashi sat on a tree stump and directed Naruto to sit on the one across from him.

Naruto's anxiety began to flare up for the umpteenth time that day.

"I won't beat around the bush here, Naruto. Yamato informed me of what happened on the mission."

"He did, huh?" Naruto sighed, "I didn't mean to do it... it just... happened."

"I understand, Naruto. There's not much to apologize for. It's not like you have complete control over the Kyuubi, so try not to beat yourself up over it."

"How can I not?" Asked Naruto, "I not only cost us the mission, but my actions lead to the death of not only one of my teammates, but probably two now. And if we include Sasuke, it'll probably be three at this rate."

Kakashi raised an eyebrow, "Now I wouldn't go that far, Naruto. Don't place such a heavy burden on yourself. Sai and Sakura both put their lives on the line for their village on that mission just as they would in any other mission."

Naruto wanted to agree with Kakashi, but he just couldn't, "Yes, but I'm sure Sakura didn't plan to go on that mission, only to have an ally turn on her..."

Kakashi's eyebrow was still raised, "Uh, from the intel that was brought to me, Sakura had fallen before Sai sided with Orochimaru. So how could that be the case?"

"I'm not talking about Sai. I'm talking about me." Said Naruto.

The Sharingan bearer made his rising confusion known, "...So you were the one who sided with Orochimaru?"

"What? No!"

"You're losing me here, Naruto." Kakashi stated, scratching his head, "What exactly is it that you're saying?"

"I was saying that it's hard for me to not feel like things are my fault when I'm the reason Sakura died... I know that technically it was the Kyuubi, but..." Something then dawned on Naruto, "Wait, didn't Yamato tell you...?"

"All Yamato told me was that you grew four tails into your Kyuubi state, which is the worst its ever gotten. So what's all this about Sakura's death being your fault? I was told that Orochimaru was the one that attacked her."

Naruto wanted to smack himself. Due to his lingering guilt over the situation, he exposed the truth to Kakashi inadvertently. He felt he should have had more faith that Yamato wouldn't just tell anybody without consulting him first. Not that Yamato really owed him that much, regardless, but still.

The blond felt that it was far too late to back out of the discussion now and ultimately decided to come clean all the way to Kakashi.

"Orochimaru didn't attack Sakura... I did. Or at least I did while I was in that state. I don't recall having any control or memories of my actions at that point... But Yamato saw everything and did what he could to stop me, but..."

Naruto shook his head. Today was becoming a pretty emotionally exhausting day for him, to say the least.

"I asked Yamato to keep things between us. And I thought when you said he told you everything, you meant that he told you that, too. But I guess I kind of exposed myself on this one." Naruto ended with a dry chuckle.

Kakashi allowed this information to process before crossing his arms, "Well, that certainly makes more sense. I was wondering why Orochimaru would go after Sakura when you're usually the one who chooses to be on the front lines."

Naruto said nothing.

"In any case," The silver-haired Jounin started with a sigh, standing up, "I'm not going to blame you for any of that. It's not your fault that the Kyuubi's chakra broke out so much. I can only imagine how bad it could have been if Yamato wasn't there to yield the Kyuubi's influence on you. So don't beat yourself up."

"I don't see how that's possible. Like I said before, I cost us the mission. No matter how you look at it, I'm tied to the cause of Sakura's death. And if we hadn't had to retreat due to what I did, we probably could have saved Sai, even if it is that Danzo guy's fault initially." Naruto put his face in his palms, "That was easily the worst day of my life... and what makes it worse is that I can't even remember everything..."

Kakashi stared at Naruto as he sobbed for a while before looking towards the sky. The Jounin closed his eyes and sighed before walking over to Naruto, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Hey." Kakashi called for his attention, "I know how you feel more than you think."

Naruto sniffled, "You do...?"

Kakashi nodded, "Yeah. One of these days we'll go out for a drink and I'll tell you something that I don't speak with anyone about. All I'll tell you now is that I can sympathize with you. And I need you to trust me when I tell you that what happened wasn't your fault. You are not a bad person, Naruto."

Naruto nodded and thanked him for his endearing words. He was also curious about what it was Kakashi was talking about, and made a note to definitely accept his drinking offer whenever he chose to propose it.

"Thanks, sensei." Said Naruto, wiping his tears.

Kakashi smiled with his eyes, "Don't mention it. You have the next week off, so definitely use that time to get your mind together. Mourn, if you have to. And I definitely encourage you to tell Tsunade what you know if you haven't already."

Naruto nodded, "I know... Yamato-sensei told me the same thing not too long ago."

Kakashi nodded as well and chose to change the subject, "Well, as interesting as this conversation has been, I'll get back to where I originally left off. Seeing as the Kyuubi's influence is growing stronger each time you use it, I think at some point we should use the week that we have to train. I was doing some thinking while in the hospital, and I devised a new training method where you can create your own original jutsu."

Naruto was about to refuse the offer of training as he did with Anko, until he heard the mention of creating his own original jutsu. Even despite Naruto's current mental block, he couldn't turn down an offer at learning something cool.

"Original jutsu?" Naruto repeated, his facing lighting up slightly.

Kakashi grinned. It felt as though he just told a child that he had candy waiting for him, "Yup, an original jutsu. But there are some measures we have to take beforehand."

Naruto always hated how Kakashi seemed yo enjoy exciting him with something, only to bring up something not so exciting that he had to do prior, "Okay, like what?"

"Well, I wasn't going to say this originally, but considering what you told me, I think it would be best if we do something about the seal holding the Kyuubi. From what I can tell, your seal weakens every time you use the Kyuubi's powers. And we need to make sure that seal stays on tact for as long as possible before we engage in anything that can rouse that chakra. Nothing against you, but if that chakra is getting as out of hand as it has been recently, then we have to ensure that you and everyone around you will be safe."

Naruto nodded, seeing as that was something he wanted to look into himself already, "Yeah, I know. I actually planned to find Ero-Sennin soon so he can try to do something about it."

"Good. I'm glad to see that we're on the same page." Said Kakashi, "We can still get started on some of the preliminary training, however, since it won't be very intense. So if you're available, come meet me here tomorrow morning, and I'll have a little something ready for you."

"Sounds good." Naruto said with a small smile. Kakashi responded with his usual happy expression of the eyes.


	4. Chapter 4: Eye on the Prize

In the Northwestern region of Konoha, Anko Mitarashi waited outside of the front door to an apartment square. She tapped her foot onto the hardwood floors impatiently with her arms crossed, before deciding to bang on the door again.

"God, what's taking you so long? Hurry up already!" She barked through the door.

"I-I'll be right there!" She heard the slightly frazzled voice of her friend on the other side of the door. Anko rolled her eyes and leaned against the wall across from the door, using this time to daydream about anything other than food, though she was failing miserably.

Soon enough, the door to the apartment opened, revealing Anko's good friend, Kurenai Yuuhi. She wore her normal attire, though her hair wasn't what would be considered perfectly combed. Behind her emerged her lover, Asuma Sarutobi, who wore nothing but boxers and an inside-out t-shirt. They mischievously whispered to each other before pecking each other on the lips as a sweet goodbye. Kurenai stepped into the apartment hallway and closed the door behind her, giving her friend a coy smile.

"Sorry Anko, I guess I lost track of time." She apologized.

Anko shook her head, "I'm sure you did. Let's just hurry up and go before they close."

Kurenai giggled at her friend and walked with her out of the apartment building, "Somebody's cranky."

"You're damn right I'm cranky!" Anko grunted, "We planned this two weeks ago, and today is not a day where I can go without dango. I swear, if they close before we get there, that's your ass, Kurenai."

The red-eyed Jounin rolled her eyes with a grin on her face, "Sorry, geez! I didn't realize the sun was starting to set already."

"Yeah, because you were too busy getting pinned down by Mr. Chin Strap in there."

"That's inappropriate, Anko." Kurenai said with a playful sigh.

"But am I wrong?"

Kurenai said nothing.

"That's what I thought." Anko grunted with a shake of her head.

Kurenai could only laugh, despite her slight embarrassment, "Hey, sue me for wanting to enjoy the relationship I have with someone I love."

"I don't care if your horny little self wishes to ride Asuma's dick off into the sunset. Which, by the way, is clearly something you're already working on. All I'm saying is that you should manage your time better." Anko crossed her arms, pouting at the ground, "We rarely get to hang out like we used to."

At this, Kurenai gave her a sad smile, "I know, Anko. You're still my best friend. Our schedules just don't sync up like they used to."

"I've had the same consistent schedule that I've had for years, Kurenai." Anko said, "You're the one with the changes. Don't get me wrong, it puts a smile on my face to know that you're getting some good lovin'. You're just one of my only friends, and I'm finding it harder and harder for us to hang out lately."

Kurenai had to admit, she genuinely felt bad. It had been over two months since the friendly pair hung out with one another. They used to hang out every other day. It was almost a requirement for shinobi to seek out leisure and have fun while not on duty, considering the stresses that come with the job. But lately, Kurenai had been too caught up dating Asuma to consistently follow up on plans with the purple-haired Jounin, much to her obvious frustration, "I understand your viewpoint, Anko. I'll definitely try to do better about us hanging out."

"I'm holding you to that." Anko declared. Just then, Anko arrived at her favorite restaurant that served Konoha's best dumplings and soups. Any amount of mild frustration with Kurenai was whisped away once the smell of good food graced her nose.

"Good news, Kurenai. I won't be kicking your ass today." The snake summoner said with closed eyes, her nose in the air, and a smile on her face. Kurenai rolled her eyes playfully to her empty threat.

"You never do anyway."

* * *

About thirty minutes later, Anko and Kurenai had spent time catching up inside the restaurant, though Kurenai was forced to do most of the talking since Anko was very busy shoving dango skewers in her mouth. Kurenai had ordered an exotic tea, as she was not very hungry, while Anko ordered an abundance of Mitarashi dango and sweet bean soup, as usual.

Anko fell back into her chair and patted her buldging stomach, "Oh yeah... a fed Anko is a happy Anko."

"And a hungry Anko is a force to be reckoned with." Kurenai mocked with her chin in her palm, "I'm glad that you're tame now, but you're paying the bill this time."

Anko burped just as her tab came to the table, "Yeah yeah, I was going to anyway."

Kurenai watched as Anko laid out the bills onto the reciept for the server to take away. An idea popped into her head as she recalled their conversation on the way to the restaurant.

"Hey," Kurenai called, "I'm really glad we found time to hang out. You're always good company to have."

Anko looked at Kurenai through the corner of her eyes, "...What are you up to?"

Kurenai's features twisted into a confused and slightly offended expression, though she tried to hide her smile as best as she could, "What do you mean?"

"You always try to butter me up before trying to convince me to do something or get a point across." Accused Anko. Kurenai shook her head.

"I think the TI department has you paranoid."

"The TI department trained me to know human psychology and social patterns down to an art-form." Anko stated, not backing down, "What is it that you want to say to me, Kurenai?"

Kurenai laughed, knowing that it wouldn't be easy to get one over on one of the best interrogators in Fire Country, "Well... I was going to tell you that I really do enjoy hanging with you, Anko. But... it's not going to be as easy for me to do so as it used to."

"Yeah, I know." Anko said matter of factly, "Because you're dating Asuma. I was giving you shit about it earlier, remember?"

Kurenai nodded, twindling her fingers together, "Yeah, but that's not exactly what I mean..."

Anko squinted her eyes at her friend as a cue for her to get to the point.

"Aha... I'm um... I'm pregnant."

Anko's eyes widened. The air between them was quiet for quite a while.

"Are you serious?!" Exclaimed Anko. Kurenai modestly nodded and Anko rushed out her chair to hug her friend. Kurenai hugged back, happy that she got a positive reaction out of her.

"Congratulations, Kurenai." Said Anko genuinely as she sat back into her chair, "I'm really happy for you, truly."

Kurenai smiled, "Thank you, Anko. I knew for about a week now, and I decided to finally tell Asuma the news today. He's just as excited as I am." Kurenai said happily.

Anko nodded and looked off in the distance momentarily. She realized that was probably why she took so long to come out and hang out with her. She was happy, and was sharing that happiness with her lover. Now she's on her way to bringing new life into the world, and Anko couldn't blame her for wanting that for herself.

Anko gave a short snort, "So you're pregnant, huh? I can't imagine you dealing with all those hormonal patterns that pregnancy comes with when you're already an emotional wreck."

"Hey, I am not that emotional." Kurenai said with a slightly offended but playful tone.

"When we were Chuunin, you cried to me for an hour because you accidentally killed a ladybug during training." Anko stated flatly.

"We were teenagers! And that ladybug's life is no more important than ours!" Kurenai defended.

Anko shook her head, "I'll agree to that the next time I see a ladybug defend us during an invasion." She replied sarcastically, "Anyway, I really am happy for you. Don't worry about me and start your family. I'll find something to do in my spare time."

Kurenai then gave her a slightly mischievous grin, which was something Anko didn't necessarily enjoy.

"I know I've said this before, but... why not try putting yourself back on the market again?" Asked Kurenai.

"No." Was Anko's simple answer.

"Come on, why not?"

"Because it's like I told you, I don't have a desire to be 'with' someone. I do better when I'm flying solo." Stated Anko, "Besides, what man do you think can put up with my personality?"

"You have a great personality!" Encouraged Kurenai.

"That's not an answer to the question, Kurenai." Said Anko passively.

"Um... what about Kakashi? If anyone can take your attitude in stride, it'd be him."

Anko sneered, "Nah, he's too boring. Besides, I barked up that tree when we first became Jounin. I think he might be into men."

Kurenai laughed, "I don't think so. You say that about every guy that isn't interested in you."

The Jounin with the trench coat rolled her eyes, "Yeah, well... then it just eludes back to the question of what kind of man will be interested in me. I'm not particularly the sweetest grape out of the bunch, ya know." She said with a short shrug.

"You tell me about dozens of men all the time that try to get with you, but you turn them down." Said Kurenai.

"Yeah, but all those men are either weird, creeps, or weak. And I admit that the bar is set pretty high, but it's for a reason."

A shinobi hanging around in the restaurant mustered up the courage to approach the pair and looked at Anko with a smirk.

"Pardon me ladies, I would just like to introduce myself. I'm—"

"Walking."

"...Pardon?"

Anko looked at the man through the corner of her eyes, "You're. Walking. You're walking. Like walking away. Right now."

The man frowned and raised an eyebrow, "That's a bit harsh, don't you th—?"

"Excuse me, Mr. Walking, why aren't your feet moving yet?"

"Hey, I just—"

"If you're not gone in the next three seconds, bad things will have a significant chance of happening to you. I'd get moving if I were you."

The poor man decided to just cut his losses and leave Anko alone. Not before murmuring a few terms to describe Anko that would definitely not sit well with her if he wasn't saying it under his breath.

Kurenai shook her head, "He could have been the one. You didn't have to be that rude to him."

Anko crossed her legs, as well as her arms, "I don't appreciate guys who just walk up to me while I'm clearly in the middle of a conversation. His poor timing was his downfall from the very beginning."

"Then how would you like men to approach you?"

"That's the thing; I wouldn't want them approaching me at all." Anko said before shaking her head, "Kurenai, I am not afraid of dying alone. My tombstone could literally say 'Here lies Anko, the loneliest bitch in Konoha' and I'd be okay with it. I don't need anyone, and I'm not looking for anything in someone. All I want is a friend I can grab lunch or a drink with every so often."

Kurenai shook her head. Anko always was a stubborn one.

"I hear you, Anko." Although, Kurenai figured she'd give it one last shot, "I just think, if nothing else, you could use someone who could... 'take the edge off' for you, if you catch my drift."

"The only thing that 'takes the edge off' for me is food." Anko refuted flatly, "Besides, I have plenty of things in my dresser that can do that for me. All in different sizes and shapes, too."

Kurenai chuckled and crossed her arms, giving her a sly look, "But you know its not like the real thing."

"Me going solo is much better than the real thing, trust me." Anko scoffed, "Men are disappointing beings in pretty much every aspect, especially in the bedroom."

At this, Kurenai looked off with a slightly dazed expression, "Not when it's the right one..."

Anko leered at Kurenai with crossed arms, doing what she could to not feel even the slightest bit of envy, "As I said, I'm happy for you. I just don't think it's in the stars for me."

Kurenai nodded at her dismissive response, deciding to leave it alone for now. But Kurenai was Anko's friend. And she's gotten to know Anko more than anyone else in Konoha could ever manage to know her. And Kurenai could tell that Anko was slightly envious of her relationship with Asuma because deep down she wanted something like it for herself, even if she didn't want to admit it.

"If you insist, Mitarashi-san." Said Kurenai with a sarcastic tone.

* * *

After finishing up at the restaurant, Anko and Kurenai went their own seperate ways, as Kurenai had more plans with Asuma to celebrate Kurenai's pregnancy. Anko, figuring she was out of things to do today, decided it'd be in her best interest to get some training in. It had been a while, and she figured she could always sharpen up on her aim with target practice. Besides, her conversation with Kurenai was beginning to make Anko think too much about... certain matters, and Anko was always determined to stop that from happening as soon as it occured.

Training Grounds Seven was the closest training ground to her, and she decided to use that as her area to train. As she walked into the clearing, she saw two figures standing in the middle. Even at the distance she was from them, she recognized them immediately. How could she not, considering how there was a tall scarecrow looking man with silver hair and a young man with an orange jumpsuit standing there?

Naruto stared at the sliced pieces of paper in each of his hands, "So... that means my chakra is wind nature, right?"

"So it seems." Kakashi nodded, rubbing his chin, "That's actually pretty shocking to see. Most shinobi in Konoha have fire nature chakra. Wind is more of a Suna thing."

Naruto grumbled, "Wind doesn't seem as cool as something like fire or lightning."

"Fire and lightning style jutsu may be a bit more flashy, but each of the elements hold an equal amount of pros and cons, depending on the situation." Lectured Kakashi.

"I guess. So what comes n—?"

 ** _*POOF*_**

"Hi."

"SHIT." Exclaimed Naruto, almost literally jumping out of his pants. Naruto had fallen onto his ass, and clutched at his chest as he leered at the woman who spontaneously poofed into existence behind him, "What the hell?!"

Anko began lightly chuckling, "Your guard was down. What if I was an enemy? I could have slit your throat before you would have even known what was happening."

Kakashi shook his head while Naruto pointed a finger at her, "Yeah, well you're not an enemy, you're a crazy snake lady who just scared the hell out of me! I'm honestly starting to question which one is more dangerous!" He then crossed his arms, "Why is everyone insisting on scaring the crap out of me today?"

"You make it too easy." Anko said, "Whatcha doin'?"

Naruto dusted himself off, "I was training until you made my heart almost fly out of my chest."

"Don't be a drama queen." She scoffed, "And you consider standing here doing nothing as training?"

"We were actually figuring out Naruto's chakra change in nature." Kakashi intervened, "He needs to do so in order to create a new jutsu for himself."

Anko looked at the scarecrow with a raised eyebrow, "He's just now figuring out his chakra change in nature? What have you been teaching him this whole time?"

"Finally. Someone gets it." Naruto grumbled under his breath. Kakashi sweatdropped.

"Anko, what are you doing here? You're interrupting Naruto's training."

"I'm here to train too, Kakashi. This training ground is big enough for us both." She scoffed before looking at Naruto, "And hey, I thought you said you weren't in the mood to train."

"Well, this isn't very intense training. All the stuff that comes after will have to wait until I get my seal situated." Answered Naruto.

"So you both feel that you need an entire training grounds to yourself just to figure out your chakra change in nature?" Anko questioned, "You could have done that at home."

Naruto looked at Kakashi who simply shrugged in response.

Anko shook her head and pushed the two men out of her way, "If you'll excuse me, I actually have some _real_ training to do. Feel free to watch if you have nothing better to do."

* * *

A few minutes later, Anko finished up laying down her targets and posts, effectively hiding them in areas that were not immediately obvious or out in the open. She must have placed at least two dozen of them, all in different directions, altitudes, and distances. She stood at least fifty meters away from each target around her in the middle of the clearing, holding two fist-fulls of shuriken between her fingers.

The elite Jounin closed her eyes and took a deep breath. As soon as she exhaled, her eyes opened and she cocked her arm ready to throw a shuriken at her first target that was directly in front of her, approximately fifty-four meters away.

Then right after, she twisted her body to throw one at another target in the opposite direction, sixty-two meters away.

Before Naruto had even realized what he was looking at, loud 'thunk' noises was heard from each of the targets she was hitting, right on the bullseye. She threw the metal weapons in random directions at rapid succession; by the time one target had been hit, another shuriken was already flying to another target in a different direction. And if she were to run out of shuriken in one hand, the other would still be throwing kunai at another target as she grabbed more from her hip pouch. Her bodily maneuvers caused her to spin around gracefully as her arms were almost blurred due to the speed of her movements. Naruto was even beginning to wonder if she was even looking at the targets before throwing them.

As he watched Anko's exercise, he also happened to notice not just her agility, but her flexibility and posture. Watching Anko perform the task was almost like watching an exotic dancer, as her fast but graceful movements was captivating to watch. She made it look easy. And due to the flailing of her large trench coat, Naruto was able to see some parts of her agile body move and 'jiggle' ever so slightly, making him reminisce about how exactly he was feeling when first laid eyes on Anko at the bar the other day.

After a few more seconds, Anko had landed flat on her heels and let out a quick 'Whew!' as no more targets were left. All twenty-seven targets were successfully hit spot on, even if the target's bullseye was blocked by something like a bush or a tree branch.

Naruto gawked in amazement, as he'd never seen such exemplary precision with shuriken. At least not in combination with the speed Anko just exhibited.

"She's good..." Was all Naruto could say. Kakashi chuckled and nodded.

"Yeah, Anko was always known for her aim." Said the Jounin, "I'd even go as far as to say that she has better aim with weapons than I do."

"Really?!" Naruto asked incredulously, "I mean, that was cool and everything, but I've seen you do cooler stuff than that with shuriken!"

Kakashi could only chuckle again, "Oh, this is just a warmup for her."

"A warmup?!" Naruto's jaw was open. He turned his head just in time to see Anko approaching him, ignoring the look on his face. She wasn't even breaking a sweat.

"Hey, you're able to create lots of shadow clones, right?" Anko asked him.

"Uh, yeah? Why?"

"I want moving targets." She said, "So c'mon, whip a few out for me."

"Err, sure." Naruto created his signature hand seal, "How many do you want me to make?"

"About fifty should be fine."

"Fifty?!" Exclaimed Naruto.

Anko rose an eyebrow, "What? Is fifty too much for ya?"

Naruto shook his head, "No, its just that fifty is a lot of clones to use for target practice... Especially if you want them to move."

"Oh." Anko said before grinning sheepishly, "So I take it that you don't know about my little hidden talent, I see. I guess my reputation doesn't proceed me just yet."

Kakashi gestured toward Anko before taking out his little orange book, "Anko here has a proficiency with her use of kunai, shuriken, senbon, pretty much anything throwable. Her accuracy is good enough to rival Itachi's, and despite how he's younger than both of us, he was undoubtedly a prodigy in his time."

"Whoa..." Was all Naruto could say.

Anko smirked, but then tapped her foot impatiently, "Alright, so are you gonna create some clones or not?"

Naruto nodded, "Uh, yeah. Taju Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" He exclaimed before fifty identical copies of him came into existence.

"Good." Said Anko, "Now command them to go into the forest and either try to hide or outrun me. I'll only be using throwables to dispell them."

Naruto nodded and commanded them to do what she said. All fifty clones raced into the forest out of the clearing, all in different directions, "You might be in there for a while." Naruto commented, "That's a lot of clones and a lot of ground to cover."

"I bet five-hundred ryo that I'll get them all in under twenty minutes." Anko challenged, offering her hand to seal the deal. Naruto hesitated due to her confidence, but shook her hand nonetheless.

"Alright, you're on!"

Anko grinned and got in position, "Well then, feel free to start the clock."

Kakashi looked at his watch, "Three, two, one... go."

And with that Anko disappeared into the forest, hunting after Naruto's clones.

Kakashi shook his head, "It's unfortunate that you're about to be out five-hundred Ryo."

"What makes you so sure that I'm going to lose the bet?!" Naruto questioned.

Kakashi simply continued reading his book as he answered Naruto's question, "Anko is a Tokubetsu Jounin for a reason. Yes, she's in the Torture and Interrogation department of our forces, but Anko is also specially suited for tracking and assassination missions. Not only is her aim deadly, but she can track almost as well as an Inuzuka can. She has no special Kekkei Genkai, nor does she belong to any clan. But she's definitely someone that can track down and dispell all of your clones not only in record time, but without missing her targets even once."

Naruto only looked in amazement. He never would have thought Anko had these talents, but had to remind himself that she was not only a Jounin class kunoichi, but a Tokubetsu Jounin.

"Are you saying that she could be stronger than even you, Kakashi-sensei?" He inquired.

Kakashi chuckled, "Well... not to sound full of myself, but I wouldn't say that I'd go that far. She may best me in some areas, and she is undoubtedly a lethal kunoichi, but I'd say she could use some work in a few other areas in order to surpass me."

Naruto said nothing. He was still shocked and impressed with what he's heard and seen from her, and began to wonder how he'd fair if he were to go up against her like she wanted. The thought of it alone made him eager to want to start fighting again... but he had to remind himself that there are things he had to take care of beforehand.

* * *

 _ ***Seventeen minutes later***_

Anko emerged out of the forest with a grin on her face, "I want my money."

Naruto sweatdropped and decided to just honor the rules of the bet, considering how he lost fair and square. He counted each individual time he heard his clones being dispelled in the forest, and undoubtedly counted all fifty of them.

"Told ya." Was Kakashi's small comment, which made Naruto grunt as he reached into his wallet.

Anko approached the boy and swiped the bills from him, stuffing them into the pocket of her trench coat, "Let this be a lesson to you; I don't make bets unless I'm at least ninety-nine point nine percent sure that I'll win." She said with a very proud smirk, "But I will say, your clones were pretty slippery. Some of them actually made me break a sweat hunting them down."

This made Naruto grin as well, "I'm faster than I look."

Anko nodded, "I see that. I can't wait to fight you."

The loudmouthed pair sent each other challenging looks before Kakashi cleared his throat, "Well, I'd best be heading off. Naruto, let me know when you get your seal situated so we can continue with your training. But until then, I'll be seeing you both around."

And with that, Kakashi disappeared from the training grounds, destination unknown as always.

"Hey," Anko called, looking at Naruto, "How you holding up?"

Naruto appreciated her concern, "I'm... doing better."

"Glad to hear it." Anko said genuinely, "I'm actually glad that you're at least doing some kind of training, and still have some fighting spirit. Part of me was sure you'd pussy out of our agreement."

Naruto laughed, "No way! After seeing you training, it just made me wanna fight you even more!"

Anko snickered, "If anything, I thought it'd make you want to fight me less."

"How do you have such good aim, anyway?" Naruto asked, "Kakashi-sensei told me that you don't have any kekkei genkai or anything, so how did you manage to have aim that Kakashi-sensei even said was better than his?"

"You can be the best at anything as long as you practice enough." Stated Anko, "Hey, what has Kakashi been teaching you for the past three years of your life? Why is he just now teaching you about something as basic as chakra change in nature?"

Naruto scratched his head, "Er, not much. He taught me how to walk up trees and some other basic training in the beginning, but most of the things I know now was taught to me by other people."

Anko didn't seem very impressed or happy to hear that, "And just why is that?"

"Well, I did go on a training trip with Jiraiya for a few years, but other than that, he was just busy training Sasuke." Naruto answered.

"The Uchiha..." Anko mumbled before shaking her head, knowing why it was Kakashi dedicated his time to the one who bore the Sharingan, "Of course."

Naruto raised an eyebrow, "What? Is there something I should know?"

Anko shook her head, "Nah. I'm just glad he's taking time to train you now." An idea suddenly popped into her head, making her grin, and thus making Naruto uneasy, "Hey, you want me to give you some lessons on how to better your aim?"

"Sure!" Naruto lit up only for a second, "Wait, there's a catch, right?"

"I wouldn't call it a 'catch' necessarily..." Anko replied a bit too innocently, "I'll teach ya a thing or two if you treat me out to dinner tonight."

"Oh, is that all?" Asked Naruto, "I thought I already agreed to that when you made me breakfast yesterday."

"Nah, that was it's own thing." Anko replied with a big smile.

Naruto deadpanned, "So... what you're telling me is that I'm gonna have to treat you to food twice now?"

"I think it's fair. I gave you food, you give me food. I give you pointers on how to sharpen your aim, you give me food." Anko stated, still smiling, "Hey, I'll even let you consider it a date if you want the street cred of managing to score, not just one, but two dates with a Tokubetsu Jounin."

This derailed Naruto's train of thought for just a second.

"A date?" Naruto asked, "You'd go on a date with me?"

Anko shrugged, "I mean, hey, we've already slept together in our underwear."

Naruto blushed, despite how she wasn't incorrect.

The Jounin saw Naruto getting flustered and shook her head with a small chuckle, "Look, it doesn't have to be a date if its going to weird you out. I was just making a joke out of it more than anything."

Naruto laughed nervously, and it made him wonder why he was being so awkward about it. After all, Naruto wasn't new to the idea of going on a date, even if he'd never been on a legitimate one. Perhaps it was the fact that the proposal was coming from someone who outranked him, and has proven she could assassinate him on more than one occassion. It may be that, or that, as their most recent interactions would prove, he was pretty attracted to her. Anko's sex appeal lied not only in her appearance, but her personality. While she did exhibit behaviors that would intimidate a majority of men, Naruto found himself a bit drawn to it. Not necessarily the fact that she was ready to hurt him at any notice, but that despite how cold she could be when face with something she didn't like, she wasn't a cold person.

The blonde Jinchuuriki had been so wrapped up in his own thoughts, it took Anko snapping her fingers in front of him for him to realize he should probably be giving her an answer.

Naruto gave an overcompensated grin to cover up his slight but obvious embarrassment, "Hah, well, whether it's a date or not, I'd love to have you teach me a few things!"

"Good. I'm craving barbecue tonight." She stated with a grin before grabbing a few shuriken from her pouch, "Alright, so the first thing you'll want to know is that these things never get thrown in a perfectly straight line."


	5. Chapter 5: Akatsuki on the Move

As dusk began to loom over her village, Tsunade was taking a break from her paperwork, sitting in her office alone watching the sunset. Despite her conflicting feelings about being Hokage, she loved the perk of having a large window behind her office space that looked over the village. The view was always spectacular, no matter what time of year or day it was. It provided as a way to help clear a Hokage's thoughts and anxieties, combating against the stresses that come with leading thousands of people day in and day out.

 _*Knock* *Knock* *Knock*_

Tsunade closed her eyes. Her meditation was always short-lived, interrupted every time by that cursed door.

"Enter." She called, turning around in her seat. A tall man with facial scars and a large black trench coat walked into the room. Tsunade nodded, as she had been expecting to hear back from this man around this time, "Ibiki. Did she find out anything?"

"She found out plenty, actually." Ibiki nodded, "Anko's interrogation skills are almost starting to surpass mine."

"Women are scarier than men." Tsunade replied with a knowing chuckle, "What information do you have for me?"

Ibiki Morino cleared his throat, "The prisoner was actually a prospect from Kumogakure that the Akatsuki had been using for a while to find details on the Two-Tails Jinchuuriki. He was an insider from Kumo that wanted the Two-Tails gone, and was offered quite the hefty penny to find out how to lure out the Jinchuuriki without attracting too much attention."

The Fifth Hokage didn't reply immediately. She spaced off, wondering if there were any insiders in her own village that would be willing to cut deals with the Akatsuki to have Naruto gone.

"I see." Tsunade mumbled.

Ibiki continued, "Not only that, but he aided in the formation of a plan for the Akatsuki to ambush the Two-Tails on her next mission." He handed the Hokage a scroll, "In there is a map marked with the general area of where the ambush is planned to be executed."

Tsunade opened the scroll and looked at the map of the Five Great Shinobi Nations. The area that was marked was within the southwestern potion of Kumogakure, right near the border of the Land of Frost.

"This area is marked with blood." Tsunade noted, making her uneasy. Despite her overcoming her fear of blood during her altercation with Orochimaru and Kabuto a few years prior, the sight of blood still made her uncomfortable.

"Anko had the prisoner mark where it was on that map. And let's just say that she didn't appreciate how he didn't exactly make things too easy for either of them."

Tsunade shook her head. She knew that the people in the Torture and Interrogation division had to use force when necessary, but she could only imagine how _persuasive_ Anko could be if the prisoners weren't immediately cooperative.

"When will this ambush happen?"

"Tomorrow." Ibiki answered, "The Akatsuki plans to simply wait until the Two-Tails reaches her mission's rendezvous point to get the jump on her."

"I see... Is that everything?" She asked, closing the scroll.

"Just about. On an unrelated note, I'm sure that the prisoner developed a case of ophidiophobia and gynophobia thanks to Anko." Tsunade raised an eyebrow, eliciting for the chief of interrogation to elaborate, "A fear of snakes and women."

"Ah." Tsunade hummed. She couldn't blame the prisoner, after all. Anko could terrify demons if they were locked in a room with her, "Well, excellent work, Ibiki. And tell Anko next time you see her that I said good job."

"Hai." Ibiki nodded before he was dismissed. Tsunade thought to herself for a second before turning back around in her chair. She eyed the setting sun as she began to formulate a plan in her head.

 _"I will do what I can to prevent more Jinchuuriki from falling into the hands of the Akatsuki. After what happened with Gaara, it's time to really crack down on these guys."_

She then called Shizune into the room, figuring it would take too much time to inform the Raikage of the intel they've obtained. Not only that, but Konoha and Kumo weren't exactly on the best of terms. She ultimately decided to use her best stalling team to prevent the Akatsuki from seizing the opportunity of capturing the Two-Tailed Demon Cat, knowing that a specific squad known as Team Ten was more than capable.

* * *

Anko Mitarashi had placed another strip of raw beef onto the grill in front of her, and Naruto watched as the meat sizzled on contact.

"I'd heard reports about it, but I want to know from the source." Anko replied, "So you mean to tell me that you managed to learn that technique in not only one day, but used it to defeat Mizuki? All before you even became a shinobi?"

"Yeah!" Naruto said with a smile, "Iruka-sensei was in trouble, and I had to be sure Mizuki got the ass-kicking he deserved."

Anko nodded, "Impressive. I've also heard reports of Chuunin and Jounin chasing you around the village due to your pranks, only to struggle to catch you every time. I even thought that some of your pranks were golden."

Naruto rubbed the back of his head coyly, "Hah, thanks! It's like I said, I'm faster than I look."

Anko grinned, flipping over her barbecue to cook the other side, "I guess you are. We can only hope that you know what to do with this agility you possess when you go up against me."

"You betcha!" Declared Naruto, who grabbed his barbecue from off the grill and placed it on his plate. As he took his first bite, a thought occurred to him, a thought that had been troubling him since he had left Anko's home, "Hey, Anko?"

"What's up?"

A bit of hesitation stopped Naruto from replying immediately. He leaned forward to whisper to her so nobody around them would hear, "I know you said that you don't want to talk about it more until we got our fight, but... if the Yondaime really is my dad, would I be wrong for being mad at him?"

Anko's immediate impulse was to reiterate Naruto's point of not further discussing the topic until they met the terms of their agreement like he said, but she saw the look on his face. It made her regret mentioning it to him in the first place, especially since she decided to give him an answer regardless.

"Well," Anko sighed, reclining back into her seat, "That's a bit of a complicated question, Blondie. You can never be wrong or right when it comes to how you feel about a situation, because they're _your_ feelings. Feelings aren't really something that can be categorized as wrong or right."

Naruto appreciated the words of wisdom, but didn't enjoy how it wasn't something that really answered his question, "I see... it's just that the more I think about it, the more anger I feel towards the Fourth. Even before you told me about the possibility of him being my dad, I was pretty upset to find out that I was placed with this burden when I was just a baby."

Anko nodded, empathizing with him, "I hear ya. All I can really say is that it's likely all for a reason, Naruto. I doubt the Fourth did it to make your life difficult. Maybe he was just pressed for time. Maybe he simply had faith that you'd end up alright in the end. Maybe—"

"My childhood was far from 'alright'." Naruto interjected, crossing his arms.

"Be that as it may, you're still here breathing. And while things may have sucked, and probably still does suck for you, you have to keep in mind that your hardships build character. My childhood sucked too, and look at me now. My accomplishments easily made up for my scars and bruises I endured in the past. It's all a process, and the most beneficial processes for your character are usually the most difficult."

Naruto didn't reply right away. He found her point solid, and deemed it enough of an answer to his question, "...I see."

Anko watched the boy as he swam through his thoughts. She sympathized with him more than she was willing to tell him, and knew what he was going through, to an extent. She had to admit that she envied him a bit, wishing that she had someone who told her the things she was telling him when she was his age.

"It may not all make sense right now, but as long as you keep your eye on the prize, you'll soon understand where I'm coming from." Anko finalized. She then looked down at the grill between them, "Now are you going to eat, or are you going to wait until your food burns to a crisp?"

"Crap!" Naruto yelped, realizing that his meat strips was beginning to burn. Anko shook her head. He was surely not the brightest of people, but he was definitely interesting to be around.

"I have another question."

"Is it about your parents?"

"Maybe."

Anko crossed her arms, "No more questions. I thought we reached an agreement about leaving that topic alone."

"I know, I know! But this one is just about my mom, since I know you said that you knew her, too." He pleaded, "Can you describe her? Was she pretty? Was she nice? Did she—?"

A whiz of air was heard followed by the dull sound of metal hitting the back of the wooden booth Naruto sat in.

Naruto looked to his right to see a kunai embedded in the wood, no more than an inch away from his face.

"Shut up and listen, Naruto." Anko commanded, lacking any sense of a playful aura, "I told you that information is supposed to be confidential. I can be killed if someone overhears this conversation. We've already said enough in here as it is, and I'm making it a new rule to make it a strictly forbidden topic to bring up in public." Anko's piercing eyes bore into him, much like the kunai next to his head that bore into his seat, "I mean it. I will hurt you the next time you bring it up."

Naruto only stared at her for a few seconds before looking back down at his food, saying nothing. Anko could tell the boy was hurt, but she deemed it as a necessary evil. She couldn't blame Naruto for wanting to know more about his parents, but asking about them, especially in public settings, puts her life in jeopardy. Besides, she felt she gave him enough information already as it is. He should be grateful at the end of the day, in her mind.

She watched as he played with his food, a very notable frown plastered on his face. She sighed. She could only imagine how unfair it was for Naruto to just want to know about his deceased parents, and not be able to find out through other people because of a law that forbid the mention of them. The rule was technically about the Kyuubi, but Anko was no fool. If Naruto were to mention his parents to the wrong person, evidence would trail back to her, and that would get her roped up into trouble easily.

"Just wait until I kick your butt first. Then I'll let you know everything you wanna know." She said with a slight grin. Her plan in cheering Naruto back up managed to work a bit, as Naruto looked at her with a grin of her own.

"Once I get my seal checked out, I'll make sure you eat those words." Was Naruto's response. He frowned afterwards, however, "Speaking of which... I've been thinking about coming clean to Baa-chan. About Sakura. And I want to, but... what if it turns into something ugly?"

Anko shrugged, "Then you deal with it. Regardless of how it turns out, telling her is the best thing you can do right now. If there's repercussions for it, I assure you they'd still find their way to you if you try to keep it under wraps."

Naruto nodded before resuming his feast.

* * *

 _ ***The next morning***_

As Tsunade took a sip from her coffee mug as an aid to help energize her for the day ahead, a knock was heard from her door.

"Come in." She called. Shikamaru entered the room a second later, "Shikamaru. How did the mission go?"

Shikamaru's expression seemed a lot more lifeless than usual, Tsunade noticed. The young Jounin turned his head away and took a deep breath.

"The mission... was a success." He stated, "We successfully prevented the Akatsuki from capturing the Two-Tails Jinchuuriki. However, the Two-Tails host was already banged up pretty bad by the time we got to her, so she's currently detained at the hospital, receiving medical care."

"Oh, wonderful." Tsunade stated with a bit of surprise in her tone. With the way he walked in, she thought that he was going to inform her that the mission was unsuccessful, "Where's Asuma?"

Shikamaru didn't reply right away, "In the hospital." He said with a shake of his head, "But he won't make it. Ino concluded that his wounds were beyond repair due to the Akatsuki. He passed before we left the battle zone."

The Fifth Hokage sighed and rubbed her forehead, "Damn it... Asuma was one of our finest. I'm sorry, Shikamaru."

Shikamaru said nothing. The whole time since he entered the office, Shikamaru stared blankly into space as he talked, with his inflection as flat as a plateau.

The village leader noted his condition and sighed again, "In any case, good job on your mission, Shikamaru. Asuma shaped you into a very talented Jounin."

Once a tear dripped down his chin, Tsunade decided to let him have some time to grieve. She knew how much his sensei meant to him.

"I'll give Squad Ten a week off to recover. If you and your squad need more time, feel free to let me know. But in any case, I'll handle the rest." A thought then occurred to her, "How's Ino holding up?"

"She's taking it pretty hard." Said Shikamaru, "In combination with what happened to Sakura a few days ago, I think she may need more time than Choji and I."

Tsunade frowned and nodded slowly, "That's why I asked..." She rubbed her head again, cursing the responsibilities that came with her role as Hokage, "You can go, Shikamaru. Thank you."

Once she was alone, the Slug Queen had to fight her urge in taking a swig from her sake bottle hidden in her desk. She figured it was way too early to do so, but promised herself that she'd take a sip or five after she left the office that night.


	6. Chapter 6: Complications

**_A/N: Hey guys. I try to steer away from creating author notes as much as possible, but I feel compelled to vaguely explain my lack of updates lately. Long story short, it's life. Fanfiction hasn't been put on hold, but life has been slowing down my creativity and time to sit down to write. But I am still very much motivated in continuing all of my current stories, as well as adding new stories that are in the works. Can't promise that this little dry spell will let up soon, but just know that I am nowhere near done with Fanfiction just yet._**

 ** _With that being said, I hope ya'll enjoy the chapter!_**

* * *

 _*Drip* *Drip* *Drip*_

Naruto opened his eyes to see that he was standing directly in front of the Kyuubi's giant cell, ankle-deep in water as always. He sighed. He always hated being here.

"What do you want now, Kyuubi?" Naruto said into the blackness that lied beyond the bars of the dark room. Naruto stood there with his arms crossed, ready to see a pair of red evil eyes leering at him again.

However, those eyes never emerged.

The blonde stood there in silence for a whole minute before calling out again. No response. Usually, at the very least, he'd hear her sinister chuckling. But he heard and saw nothing. Was she asleep? Did she escape? The paper seal was still on the bar of the cage, but as Naruto looked closer, he did notice that the paper was hanging slightly...

Just as Naruto began to ponder all the different possibilities as to what that could mean, Naruto started hearing splashing footsteps behind him. And from what he could tell from the increasing volume of them, the owner of the footsteps was running. Running towards him.

Quickly connecting the cause of this with the reason why Kyuubi could possibly not be in her cell, he tensed up and turned around, looking into the surrounding obscurity. He clenched his fist and adrenaline started to surge through him. He wasn't sure how fighting works in this "realm", but Naruto made sure that he was going to defend himself at all costs.

"N-Naruto...?"

Naruto unclenched his hands. He'd know that voice anywhere.

Confirming his thoughts, the splashing footsteps slowed to a stop once they stepped into the visible lighting.

It was Sakura.

Naruto was past the point of disbelief. It was her. Staring right at him.

"Naruto... It is you." She murmured, locking her emerald irises onto his cerulean ones. She slowly walked over to him, and Naruto's certainty that it was the real Sakura increased as the gap between them shortened. Her facial expression, her stride... they all gave him clarity that this was the woman he'd inadvertently murdered on his most recent mission.

Sakura Haruno stopped once she was directly in front of him. Her facial expression displayed signs of shock, as did his.

"Sakura-chan... is that really you?" Naruto asked. The proof was right in front of him, obviously, but he had to ask for confirmation.

"Yeah, it's me." She answered, giving him a short smile, though she still seemed surprised, "Where are we? What is this place?"

Naruto's mind was scrambling so much that he almost didn't register her questions, "This is where... my demon dwells. I don't really understand the reality of this place, but this is where I can communicate with the Kyuubi." He decided to counter with some questions of his own, "How are you here right now? I've never really seen anyone else in here like this..."

"I don't know, honestly. This is the first time I've been able to see anything since..."

Naruto knew what the other half of her sentence was. He felt liquid building up in his tear ducts and felt a ton of heaviness and emotion weighing down on him.

"I'm so sorry..." Naruto apologized, too late to catch a tear from falling down his face before he could wipe it, "I... I don't know exactly what happened on that mission, b-but..."

"Hey." Sakura reached out to gently rub his shoulder, "It's okay, Naruto. You—"

"It's not okay." He interrupted, "I don't know how I'm even able to talk to you right now, but... you know what happened. And it's all my fault... it's all my fault..."

Sakura gazed at the sobbing boy for a few seconds before threading her arms between his arms and torso to hug him. She clasped onto him tightly and rested the side of her face onto his chest.

Naruto was so caught up in his own sorrow, he couldn't even muster up words. He simply wrapped his arms around the woman in his mindscape, hugging her tightly as if she'd come back if he held on long enough.

"Naruto, listen. I don't blame you for what happened, so neither should you. It's not your fault." She told him, still listening to his heartbeat, "You can't blame yourself. I know your demon had more to do with it than you did. So please, Naruto, don't blame yourself."

As warming as it was to hear this from Sakura herself, Naruto shook his head, "I'm... trying. But it's so hard to feel like that every second I don't see you. To know that if it wasn't for me, you'd still be around..."

Sakura pulled away to look him in the eyes, "I am still around, Naruto. I know what happened on that mission. I know I'm... supposed to be dead. And maybe I am, but I don't think I've moved on. I feel... stuck. Or trapped. I don't really know how to explain it, but something in my gut tells me that something isn't right..."

Naruto took a second to process what that could possibly mean. After all, Sakura was right here in front of him, and he could tell it wasn't a dream. He'd been able to distinguish the difference between his dreams and being in this mindscape since he was little. So how exactly was she here?

"This doesn't make a whole lot of sense." Naruto said, rubbing his forehead, "Part of me wants to think this is a dream, but I know it's not. You're here, right in front of me... when I thought I'd never see you again."

Sakura smiled and was about to reply until the room they were in went pitch black. Visibility was nil for only a few seconds. When the torches that were suspended on the walls of the room reignited, Sakura was no longer there. Naruto quickly looked around the room to see where she could have went, and was shocked when he turned around enough to see nine fox tails flailing behind a female demon in the cell that was once empty.

She was glaring at him hostilly, **"You need to leave."**

Naruto was a bit confused to hear that from her. Usually, she'd want him around to ridicule, tease, or threaten him to no end.

"What's going on, Kyuubi?! Where's Sakura?!" He demanded, marching up to the large steel cell.

 **"She's dead."**

"Why did I just see her here?!"

 **"Because you're delusional."** She scoffed, **"You're ridden with guilt to the point where you're seeing things that aren't there. You did kill her, after all."**

Naruto wasn't buying it. Something was amiss.

He walked up to the bars of the cell until he was only two feet away from the Kyuubi on the other side, "What is going on, Kyuubi? There's something you're not telling me."

The demon crossed her arms, rolling her lava red eyes, **"You really are delusional. What makes you think I have anything to do with these hallucinations you're having?"**

"I'm not crazy. I know what I saw and heard. I could even feel her touching me." He wouldn't back down.

 **"That's something you should be concerned about, then. You saw your teammate die before your eyes. Her funeral is even taking place tomorrow if I recall correctly. The faster you accept that your precious friend is dead, the easier things will be for you."**

Naruto took another step forward. There was an invisible barrier in between the spaces of the bars that prevented the two from contacting one another, but if Naruto was any closer, he'd be standing directly in front of her.

"You're up to something." He accused her, "And whatever it is, I—"

Naruto's sentence was cut off when a harsh grunt escaped his lips. His eyes bulged as he felt indescribable pain coming from his gut. He looked down to see the Kyuubi's claws embedded into his flesh, through his clothing. Red fluid began rapidly spreading around the five fingers stabbing into him, and Naruto was silenced by the combination of the large amounts of shock and pain he was experiencing.

 **"I said you need to leave."** The demon said with a snarl, **"Go. Now."**

* * *

With a very sharp and desperate inhale, Naruto jumped out of his sleep in a cold sweat. He panted heavily and clutched at the spot on his abdomen that he thought was penetrated by the demon's claws. It had taken him a bit of time to adjust to reality and get his breathing under control. He scanned his room and surroundings before looking out his window to see the sun peeking over the horizon.

"What the hell...?" Naruto wondered to himself out loud. His heart was still pounding, and his mind raced with the different conclusions that he thought of in relation to what happened in his subconscious. Was it really a dream? If not, was he really hallucinating in his own mind? Why did the Kyuubi want him gone? How was she able to send him back into reality like that? So many questions raided his mind enough to make it impossible to head back to sleep.

Naruto closed his eyes and dropped his head back into his pillow. He wondered if the grief was making him go insane. He didn't enjoy how unsure he was about what was a reality and what wasn't.

After laying in bed to assess his excessive amount of thoughts, he came to a decision that would allow him to at the very least get some weight off of his shoulders.

He decided that today, he was going to tell Tsunade the truth.

* * *

Anko Mitarashi panted as she came down from her high. Sweat lacquered her peach skin and it took some time for her to regulate her air intake. With a deep satisfied sigh, she removed her moistened hand from underneath her cloth undergarments that was now soaked in the crotch.

 _"God... I swear those early morning sessions are the best ones."_ She thought to herself as her dry hand wiped the sweat off of her forehead, _"It's definitely a nice way to start the day."_

After lying there for a moment to bask in the ambiance of post-climactic euphoria, Anko muscled up the energy to get out of bed and hop in her shower. The steamy atmosphere made it difficult to resist the temptation to go for a 'round two', but she managed to succeed in washing up and exiting the bathroom before the water ran cold.

The violet-headed Jounin wrapped her torso in a white towel and her hair in another after stepping out of the shower. Just as she exited the bathroom with a razor and shaving cream in hand, she heard a knock on her door.

 _"Great."_ She sighed with annoyance, _"Who could possibly be knocking on my door this early in the morning?"_

Anko placed the objects on her bed and walked over to her door to answer. She looked through her peephole to find Kurenai on the other side. This was strange for a few reasons. Kurenai knew that she was not exactly a morning person, and avoided the possibility of being hit with Anko's grumpy attitude whenever she could. Not only that, but Anko was usually the one who had to initiate contact with her friend, not only because of the Asuma situation, but because Kurenai was always more self-reserved, even towards her loved ones.

"Kurenai, what's up?" Anko asked after cracking her door to peer at her. Upon further inspection, Anko could see that Kurenai looked extremely down, and wasn't wearing makeup like she normally would. She'd usually never leave home without at least a little bit of mascara or lipstick applied.

Kurenai glimpsed at Anko for a moment before her watery eyes returned back to looking at the ground, "I-I just wanted to see if you were available to talk... But if it's a bad time, it can wait."

Concern began to override any other bit feelings Anko felt, due to the fact that she could tell something was seriously wrong. She may have teased Kurenai about being emotional, but she knew that Kurenai was actually pretty tough, and it had to have taken a lot for something to affect her emotional state bad enough for her to come knocking on her door like this.

Anko opened the door more, gesturing for her to enter her home, "Not at all, Kurenai. Come in."

Kurenai thanked Anko and stepped inside. After closing the door, Anko sat on the bed and motioned for her to sit next to her.

"What did you wanna talk about, Nai-chan?" Asked Anko, giving her one-hundred percent of her attention. Kurenai hesitantly opened her mouth to reply, until her lips began to quiver into the most somber expression Anko had ever seen from her best friend. The Genjutsu Queen buried her face into her palms and began sobbing profusely.

Anko's concern easily doubled by this point.

"Nai-chan?" She called, wrapping an arm around her shoulders comfortingly, "What's wrong?"

Anko patiently waited for a response. Through her tears and irregular breathing pattern, Kurenai managed to build up the ability to give one to her.

"H-He's... He's dead... Asuma is dead..."

Anko's eyes widened before she shut them dejectedly. Anko enveloped Kurenai into her arms tightly, allowing her to cry to her heart's content into her chest.

"I'm so sorry, Kurenai." She whispered to her, rubbing her back comfortingly. Kurenai's weeping only increased in volume and severity, "That's it, get it all out. I'm here for you, hun. It's going to be alright. I promise."

* * *

Naruto Uzumaki entered the Hokage tower and sighed once he reached the Hokage's door. He wasn't sure what was to come from him spilling the truth after covering it up with a lie. He knew Tsunade would likely not be pleased to hear that he misconstrued intel on a mission and went as far as to convince another shinobi to lie on his behalf. The main thing he was worried about was whether or not he'd be thrown in jail, exiled, or even executed for his crime. Even if Tsunade herself wanted to let him off the hook due to their close relationship, he wasn't sure if it was enough to stop her from doing her job anyway.

It was then that Anko's words from yesterday replayed in his mind. If there was any sort of punishment that awaited him, he'd have to simply face it head-on, rather than cowering out of it for as long as he could and letting matters fester. The only thing he could do was plead his case and hope for the best.

After another deep breath to shake off his nerves, Naruto raised his fist to knock on the door. Before he did, however, Naruto heard voices on the other side that did not sound as though the Hokage was having a normal conversation with someone. The discussion sounded heated and emotionally passionate. Naruto pressed his ear against the door to listen in on the conversation better, and was a bit taken aback by the things being said.

"Ino, I'm going to need you to watch your tone when you're speaking to the Hokage. I—"

"Or else what? You'll strip me of my rank? You'd honestly be doing me a favor compared to what you're trying to do now."

"Ino, please." Naruto could tell that this was Shizune's voice, "You're being unreasonable. Don't talk back to her like that..."

"You know what's unreasonable? Me trying to do the best thing I can do for myself and being unable to because the 'Hokage' claims that I'm being irrational. I've made my mind up. I'm done. I've thought long and hard about it, so why the hell can't I just turn in this stupid headband and be done with it?!"

Naruto heard Tsunade take a deep breath. She was trying her best to keep her emotions at bay, "Because you're thinking with your emotions. I understand your pain and frustrations. Sakura and Asuma died for the sake of the village, just like many other shinobi, and—"

He heard Ino scoff. He'd never heard Ino talk with such an ill-tempered tone before.

"Fuck this." Naruto heard the clattering sound of metal dropping against wood, "It's really hard to take anything you say seriously when you're the reason they're dead."

"Excuse me?!"

Naruto heard footsteps approaching the door and backed his head away just in time as the door opened. Naruto froze in place as Ino strode out of the door with a fiery aura.

"Ino, I—"

"Move." Ino growled, bumping Naruto by the shoulder as she passed him. Naruto watched as the Yamanaka stormed away from any human contact, destination unknown.

With his earlier task forgotten about, Naruto looked into the room of Tsunade's office to see Tsunade herself standing before her desk with grit teeth and a vein popping out on the side of her head. She was clearly trying hard not to hunt the backtalking kunoichi down to drag her face into the ground for her insolent behavior. Shizune stood next to her, trying to calm Tsunade down to the best of her ability.

"She's just upset over her friend's and sensei's deaths, Tsunade-sama..." Shizune muttered to her, with a tone that showed how carefully she was treading, "Don't confront her now. She's just dealing with the grief in her own way."

The Slug Queen let out an angry sigh that was almost a growl and sat back into her seat, "She's lucky she walked away when she did! The nerve of that girl to talk to me like that... Who the hell does she think she is?!"

Naruto slowly walked into the room. Easy to say that he wasn't expecting these events to unfold, "What happened?" He inquired to the two women.

Shizune saw that Tsunade was too busy regulating her frustrations to answer, "Um, Ino is having a rough time coping with Sakura's and Asuma's passing. Tsunade-sama called her in to have a one-on-one talk with her and it didn't go as expected..." She pointed at the Konoha headband on Tsunade's desk, "Ino wanted to turn her headband and retire as a kunoichi, and Tsunade tried to tell her that it was a rash decision, but... Ino wasn't trying to hear it."

Naruto stood there for a second to let this news digest. He wasn't even aware that Asuma had passed. And from what he'd overheard from the conversation, Ino wasn't in her right frame of mind to make the decisions she was making for herself.

The blond approached the desk and grabbed Ino's headband, "I'll talk to her."

"I wouldn't recommend that, Naruto-kun." Warned Shizune, "Ino... she needs some time to air out. Asuma and Sakura meant a lot to her, so she's in a very sensitive state right now. I-"

"No, let him talk to her." Grunted Tsunade.

Shizune was shocked to hear this, "Tsunade-sama, respectfully, I don't think that is wise..."

"Neither is causing a scene like the one Ino caused just now." The Sannin responded. Her frustrated eyes turned to Naruto, "Talk to her. She needs someone to talk some sense into her. If anyone can do it, it'd be you. I'd sooner rip her head off for her behavior than anything else."

Naruto looked at her and gave a solid nod before walking off before Shizune could say anything. The Hokage's assistant sighed.

"Tsunade-sama, I really don't think Ino is going to listen properly to reason in the state that she's in. Maybe if she had some time to cool off first..."

The Godiame let out a destressing sigh and shook her head, "That's exactly why I told Naruto to go after her. Naruto isn't reasonable. His stubbornness makes him that way. And if Ino is willing to talk to the most authoritative member of this village the way she just had, then I can't imagine the things she'd do or say after leaving out of here. Ino is burning hot with emotions right now, and sometimes flames need to be suffocated before they spread. I trust that Naruto is capable of performing this task better than anyone."

"I suppose..." Shizuka said reluctantly. She still had her doubts, but at the end of the day, she knew it was out of her hands. The only thing she could do at this current moment is trust in Tsunade's decision and hope for the best.


End file.
